The Good Heart Pirates
by Aonns02
Summary: This crew is far from ordinary. I mean, what kind of pirate ship doesn't even have cannons? With a doctor, a mermaid, a blacksmith, and a thief, just how can this pirate crew survive in the Grand Line? And what sort of troubles are on their way? Read and find out! P.S. I do not own One Piece nor any of its characters.
1. Pilot

**Well hello everyone, new and old. Some of you have been waiting for this story to start. Others have no clue that this was even going to happen. But no matter which you are, expecting or just curious, welcome. It is going to be my pleasure to treat you all to a wonderful story.**

 **While Luffy and his crew are bouncing around from island to island, this story will follow an entirely different crew. Their adventures aren't in the pursuit of gain or glory, but for something entirely different. Do you want to know what that something is? (Chuckles) Well then, please do read on.**

 **Welcome aboard.**

* * *

The ship creaked as the waves and winds pushed it gently forward. The sun beat down harshly on the open sea with enough heat to fry an egg in a matter of seconds. Might as well open the deck up as a barbeque and start frying for the paying customers.

The ship wasn't large by any means but it wasn't small either. It was a Lorcha type, meant for carrying cargo and the like. The sails were easily the largest part of the ship. Speed and maneuverability, that's what this ship was made for, not sieging an island or battling other ships. In fact, there weren't even any cannons on board. There weren't decorations of any kind adorning it, aside from a chimney that smoked weakly at the back end of the ship and the crow's nest which had a large yellow star painted on the roof. Somehow the paint hadn't peeled from the strain of the Grand Line's harsh weather patterns. Overall, some would find its design sickeningly simple. The impression it gave was unnoticeable and unthreatening, which was exactly how the crew liked it.

But there was one thing that ruined that impression. Above the crow's nest waved a flag bearing pirate colors. A skull grinned from a black background, but instead of crossbones, two syringes crossed each other. Behind the skull and syringes was a large red heart.

In the helm room, a single man sat in a chair. This man's name was Doc. Doc Woodall, to be exact. He kept his eyes on the Log Pose on his wrist and corrected their course as necessary. But other than that, he just sat there. He might have been considered attractive in certain circles. He has blonde hair that is hidden underneath a wide brimmed black hat. His pants are dark red and his shirt is white. He wears a white lab coat over his shirt. His light blue eyes are slightly marred by worry lines while his mouth has laugh lines around it. But overall, he had an unobtrusive air. In a large crowd, he wouldn't stick out.

He glanced at the Log Pose again to make sure nothing was wrong. Nothing was. Everything was normal. No sudden storms or random tornadoes or surprise sea king attacks. That made him furrow his brow. Such pleasant weather meant one of two things in the Grand Line. Either they were near an island that had stable weather conditions or the ocean was about to throw something big at them. Well, there was also the chance that they had wandered into the Calm Belt but they were somewhere near the middle of the Grand Line. The chances of them wandering that far off course in one day were practically zero.

All he really wanted to do was sit back and enjoy the nice weather while it lasted. But he knew better. Getting out of his chair, he walked over to a large desk with rolls and stacks of paper scattered around it. These papers were all maps. It was practically a treasure trove of them. And in the lower right hand corner of each map was the logo of a pair of eyes with spectacles and large, pointed eyebrows above them. The man shuffled through a few maps that were laying on a relatively clear spot in the middle of the desk before his furrowed brows were matched with a frown.

"Now where did that map go?" He asked himself out loud. His voice was gentle. It wasn't commanding at all, but it was firm. When needed, that voice could calm a seething crowd or silence a king. Taking off his hat, he scratched his head and looked around, puzzled. "I could have sworn I put it here last night." He searched through the nearest stacks only to be met by disappointment.

Leaving the helm room, he crossed the scorching deck and went down the stairs that lead into the ship's interior. He was immediately stopped by three doors. The left one gave off the smell of antiseptic and various herbs. He ignored that one completely. It was the Medical Room. When one of the crew was sick or hurt, that was where they went. There was no way the map was there.

Instead, he went to the door on the right. As he opened it, the fragrance of cooking rice, vegetables, and meat flooded his nose. The kitchen. He had to resist drooling as his stomach growled. It was nearly time for lunch. On the far left side of the room in front of the door was a dining area consisting of a long table with small, cushioned stools scattered around it.

At the sound of something sizzling, he turned his attention to the rest of the kitchen. It was a simple layout. The walls were lined with a sink, a stove, an oven, and a large refrigerator with a matching freezer. There was a counter on the far wall that held all the cooking utensils. It was next to the door that lead to the pantry that held all of their dry foods. There was an island counter near the stove covered with ingredients, utensils, and a cutting board.

And in front of the stove, stirring a pot of what looked like soup, stood a woman with flowing pink hair that fell to the small of her back. Well 'stood' was a relative term in this case. Instead of legs she had a long, orange fishtail with white patterns decorating it. Her name was Maya and she was a mermaid. And she was only able to stand because of the bubble ring that was wrapped around her waist. It kept her elevated, sort of like she was swimming through the air. She had to be careful though. If she bumped into anything the bubble would pop and she would fall to the floor. Her eyes were cold and deadly and probably the only thing about her features that weren't strikingly beautiful. Her skin was flawless and smooth, her hair flowing and soft. Her curves would turn the head of any man and probably a few women. She was the kind of mermaid that nobles would give their entire kingdoms to own. But there was just one problem with that.

She belonged to no one. Growing up on Mermaid Island, she had learned one very important thing: never let anyone tell you what to do. Now, it was either that upbringing or maybe it was just her personality...but any noble wouldn't last more than a day before they would try to get rid of her. Her temper was fiery and her aim...unerring.

As he studied her (and enjoyed the aroma of the soup), a knife was suddenly embedded in the doorframe near his head. He flinched away with a startled yell, first looking at the knife and then in the direction it had been thrown from.

The mermaid was glaring at him with devilish eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? Stay out of my kitchen when I'm cooking!" Raising her hand, she readied to throw yet another sharp implement at his head, this one looked like a carving knife...

"Maya...Maya be reasonable now." Doc said slowly. He was ready to bolt the moment that knife went any higher. He gulped. He really didn't want to stitch up _another_ stab wound. "I'm just looking for the map. No need to get violent..."

"It isn't here so get out!" The knife was thrown and only his quick reflexes kept him from taking it to the forehead. "Out out out!"

He ducked out of the doorway before anything else could be chucked at him. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving!"

He slammed the door shut in his hurry (and to protect him from any follow up tosses) and leaned against it with a deep breath. Pulling off his hat, he ran a hand through his hair. Honestly, the crew probably suffered more injuries from dealing with Maya than they did with other pirates or Marines.

After steadying himself, he walked over to the center door and pulled it open. It lead down a long passage of other doorways. There were small lanterns here and there to keep things lit. The first door on the right lead to Maya's room. As a mermaid, she couldn't be forced to travel on the bubble ring all the time. Her room was specially made for a mermaid, the majority of it being a big pool. It was deep enough for her to swim freely. Even her bed was kept at the bottom of it. Plus, she never had to worry about intruders. Nobody wants to fight a mermaid underwater.

Going passed that, the first door on the left lead to a storage room. Normally, this would be where a ship would store its gunpowder and ammunition. However, their ship noticeably lacked such things as cannons. The barrels that were stored in that room contained something much different. They were filled with medicine. Herbs, drugs, powders, liquids, ingredients. This was where they kept the cures to many, many different illnesses. There was a second entrance to it through the Medical Room.

There was no way the map was in there so he walked right on by. The second door on the left opened up to the sleeping quarters for the rest of the crew. There were a few chests along the walls for personal items of the people that slept there. There were three in total, same as the number of hammocks that were hanging here and there, either connected to wooden posts or hanging on the walls. Doc looked inside and scanned the room. No sign of the map. He was starting to get frustrated. The next door on the right was the bathroom. It was furnished with a sink, a shower, and a toilet. Nothing too fancy but they got the job done. No point looking in there. The next two door were more storage rooms, one of which held miscellaneous items and equipment while the other was furnished with a multitude of stretchers, gurneys, and spare blankets. If the crew ever ran into an epidemic, this was where they were treated since they wouldn't all fit in the Medical Room.

He walked right by them and towards the last room in the hall. As he got close, a blistering heat. You would also noticed that the wood that made up the majority of the ship was replaced by stone. It hadn't been easy finding stone that wouldn't weight down the ship too much. It also wasn't cheap. But considering the profession of that room's occupant, it was basically a necessity otherwise the ship would catch on fire.

Opening the door, Doc's face was hit by a wave of heat. It practically burned his lungs. But he ignored that. He had gotten used to it at this point. When he opened the door, his ears were greeted by the sounds of a burning fire and the pounding of a hammer on steel. The walls were decorated with weapons of all shapes and sizes. There were barrels scattered everywhere filled with either brine or parts. The left side of the room was lined with shelves of ores, ingots, and other materials.

On the far side was a blazing forge. It was the source of the chimney that protruded from the duck of the ship. And in front of it, a man holding a molten sword with a pair of tongs in one hand and a hammer in the other. He would bring the hammer up and strike the glowing steel sharply, making the room ring with the sound of metal on metal.

Curiously, the man had nothing protecting him from the heat. He wore no mask, gloves, or apron to shield him from the sparks that flew from the sword with every strike. Sweat was pouring from every inch of his skin. He couldn't be any older than twenty-three. His untidy brown hair stuck out in odd places, though it was dampened by the sweat. His muscles gleamed in the firelight, which caused the burns and scars on his hands to stick out. He was shirtless but he wore a pair of blank pants. Doc knew them to be fireproof, specially made so that way he didn't have to worry about them catching fire. The only adornment on the pants was a golden "rook" chess piece on his left pants leg. The fire cast his shadow over to the wall, making it look like there was a second person in the room.

He was so concentrated on his work that he hadn't even noticed it when Doc stepped in. Used to this, he cleared his throat a few times before shouting over at him. "Rook! Need your help with something."

Rook's head tilted in his direction in. He tempered the blade a few more times before he stood up slowly and brought it down into a barrel of brine. It hissed as steamed erupted from the barrel. He rolled his shoulders as he turned to him.

"Sup, Captain?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Walking over to him, he reached over and grabbed a red shirt that was hanging on the back of a chair. He put it on, despite the sweat that immediately soaked into the cloth. There was a small, black anvil on the bottom right hand corner of the shirt.

Doc groaned. "You know I hate it when people call me captain."

Rook just laughed him off. "Well, you are the captain of this ship. If you didn't want to be called Captain, you shouldn't have made the crew."

They had done this song and dance before so he knew that it was pointless for him to keep arguing. He glanced around the room until he noticed a piece of paper sitting on the same chair that his shirt had been on. He snatched it up to see that it was, in fact, the map he had been searching for.

He looked at Rook, irritated. "Why is the map in here? You could have damaged it."

Rook blinked. "Uh…no idea. I didn't bring it in here." He said innocently. "Why would I need the map anyway?"

Doc didn't have an answer to that. He stood there with his mouth hanging open as he tried to come up with a reason. But before he could, he glanced around them. It almost felt like they were being watched. Just as he was about to voice his suspicion, they heard a panicked voice from down the hall.

"Captain! You might wanna come look at this."

The two stood still for a moment, all traces of suspicion gone. They hurriedly ran into the hall and out into the sun. They both looked up at the crow's nest where a man was staring down at them, a spyglass in his hand. He had slicked back black hair that was tied into a small tail. He was even younger looking than Rook, though not by much. He wore a long sleeve black shirt and black pants with silver linings running down the pants. He had to be sweltering in that outfit in the day's heat. He also wore a sliver belt and a gold chain necklace.

He was pointing out at sea when he shouted down at them, "We got pirates incoming!"

"What!?" The two ran for the railing to see with their own eyes. And sure enough, a ship bearing pirate colors was headed straight for them.

Doc raised his hand and shouted up, "Pass me the glass, Alec!"

Alec, the man in the crow's nest, tossed down the spyglass, which Doc caught. He put it to his eyes and focused it on the pirate ship. Their flag was an odd combination of a skull and a frog with its tongue sticking out and making a circle around the skull.

"Shit." Rook grumbled. He had his hand over his eyes like a visor as he looked out at the enemy. "I really hope this isn't going to be another fight." He glared at Doc. "This kinds of things would be _so_ much easier if you let us bring some cannons aboard."

Doc shot the glare right back at him. "You know the rules. I may be the captain of this ship, but I'm also a doctor. And so long as I'm here, we will never harm others unless absolutely necessary."

Even Alec rolled his eyes at that as he jumped down from the crow's nest. "You take that doctor thing WAY too seriously." Seeing Doc ready himself for an argument, he raised his hands to pacify him. "Now don't go getting all wound up. I get it, we'll try talking to them first." With a flick of his wrists, he unsheathed the two cutlasses that were hanging at his belt. "And once those talks inevitably fail, you can't complain when these babies finish the conversation."

Doc sighed as Rook cheered Alec on. He had taken the Hippocratic Oath when he had become a doctor, a promise to do no harm. He took it to heart, it made up the core of his beliefs. So long as he lives, he will never hurt another living thing. His talents were for healing.

Ignoring them, he stared out at sea at the approaching battle he knew would ensue. He always tried talking to the pirates, but they never listened. They were only interested in the treasures they had onboard, not in talking.

They would just have to be ready to fight.

* * *

 **There you have it folks, the start to a brand new adventure. I know it wasn't the most exciting of chapters, but beginnings are always hard for me.**

 **Luckily, we are jumping right into the fighting next chapter! So we can look forward to that.**

 **Please let me know what you all think, good and bad. Your expectations, your ideas, your views of the characters.**

 **See you all next time!**


	2. A Doctor's Fight

**And we're back. Just so you know, Sunday is when I'll be updating this story. This is partly due to the fact that I don't have plans for today. But please note that if I ever miss an update, don't panic. If schoolwork doesn't allow me to update today, I will do so within the next day or so. If this schedule ever changes, I'll be sure to let you know.**

 **Also, something I forgot to do last chapter. Thanks to all the people that submitted side characters and villains to me. It really helps not having to make every single character for a story. Kinda drains the brain. And on that note, if anyone else has an idea for a character (not a crew member) then please let me know. I'll send you a character sheet to fill out. Just go easy on the Devil Fruits everyone. Nothing too overpowered.**

 **With that out of the way, let's get on with the story!**

* * *

As the ship got closer and closer, Rook and Alec's jovial mood became more serious. It wasn't that they were scared or anything, in fact they were very confident in their fighting skills. But this was the Grand Line. No matter how strong you were, there were people who were stronger. The Seven Warlords for example. If they were to encounter one of them, they weren't sure they would live to tell the tale.

But luckily for them, this ship didn't bear the Jolly Rogers of any of them. This was just another pirate crew seeking fortune and glory. Unfortunately, they were probably planning to get their fortune by taking it from them.

Doc sighed and rubbed his forehead. Well they were in for a rude awakening. His crew didn't have much in ways of treasure. They made the majority of their money selling Rook's weapons. And while it was enough for them to live comfortably, it wasn't exactly a treasure trove of beri and gold, but it was enough. Besides that, most pirates couldn't find the value in taking medicine unless they had a good doctor on their ship, which wasn't exactly common.

However, there was one thing on their ship that every single pirate crew on the Grand Line had tried to take from them…well more like one person. Maya. She was a mermaid after all. Bring one of those to an auction house and you could live the rest of your life in luxury. It was because of that reason that they never let the pirates enter below deck. They would go into a frenzy if they caught sight of her.

"Same rules as always." Doc said under his breath as the ship pulled up next to them.

Rook and Alec both nodded and answered, "Keep them away from Maya."

Alec couldn't help but chime in with a smile, "And take all their treasure."

Doc sighed. Alec always had beri on the brain. He didn't like it, but he couldn't stop the man from doing what he liked in this case. He wasn't really hurting anyone so Doc's oath couldn't interfere.

The pirates didn't even stop to call at them. The moment they were even with the ship, the launched the gangplanks and swung over on ropes. The men were a rowdy looking bunch. Scars, bandanas, striped shirts, some of them didn't even have shoes. They looked well fed though. Must just be their personal taste in attire. They ranged from large and muscled to short and scrawny. And all of them held weapons in their hands. Axes, swords, and clubs from what they could see. Nothing too complicated then. They didn't seem to have a sharpshooter or anything. That was a good thing. There would be less damage to the ship without anyone blowing holes in the deck.

The men laughed and chuckled delightedly as they surrounded the three. Doc and his crewmates immediately went back to back so that they couldn't be surprise attacked.

But the attack never came. They men just watched them menacingly as slow, deliberate footsteps approached from the gangplank. The crowd parted just enough so that a large man wearing a black captain's hat and a bushy brown beard stepped into the circle. He leered at them, but oddly enough he didn't look as menacing as his men were. His eyes were droopy and he had fat folds around his neck. His nose hung a little too low to look normal and his belly stuck out of his blue shirt. His brown pants didn't look like they were going to hold together much longer either. He had an unsheathed rapier in his hand and used it like a cane. Rook's eyes twitched in irritation at that.

His jowls rolled as he let out a loud laugh. "Well what do we ave 'ere boys? Doesn't look like we'll get much o' a fight outta 'em."

Doc took the moment to take a small step towards the man. He was obviously the captain of the crew. "Hello, sir. If you would just li-." He was cut off as the man's rapier was suddenly at his throat.

"Who the 'ell do ya think ye are? Do you know who I am?" He puffed his chest out and raised his head hotly at them. "I'm Captain Nathanial Froke. Ruler of the seas! Commander of South Blue! Rightful-."

As he went on, Rook and Alec leaned together and put their hands in front of their mouths to whisper. "Is…is he monologuing?" Alec asked.

Rook looked at Froke in boredom. "Yup. Definitely monologuing. Who even does this anymore?" He could suppress a laugh. "This guy is so damn lame."

When they both started laughing, the men around them put their weapons to their backs and yelled angrily, "Who they hell do you think you are? How dare you mock the Captain!?"

Interrupted from his speech, Froke glared at the two darkly. "Eh? You dare ignore the retelling of my glorious undertakings?"

Doc groaned. He was really hoping for a peaceful resolution to all this. But those two just had to go and provoke him. But maybe if he stepped in now, he could still salvage this mess.

Putting his hands together apologetically, he approached the large man. "Please sir, they didn't mean any harm. We're just a traveling doctor's ship. They happen to be my…bodyguards." He gestured at the crew around them and Froke turned to look at him. "Perhaps if any of your crew are sick or injured, we could treat them for you."

Froke let out another belting laugh. "Sick? Injured? Bahahaha! You don't seem to understand how pirates work." He went face to face with Doc and stared at him evilly. "If any of my men become useless like that, we just throw 'em overboard!" Doc stiffened at his words. That was no way to treat someone who needed help. To treat a living person like a disposable item was…horrible. He felt sorry for his crew.

But Froke just kept on talking. "And doctors ship my ass!" He pointed at the flag flapping in the wind with his rapier. "You're flying pirate colors, same as we are." Drool started pouring from his mouth. "Ye be pirates. Which means you have treasure. You must put up this 'doctor' act so that ya can get close to carrier ships." He laughed at the thought. "I can picture it now. Ya stroll up to some hapless ship acting all goody-goody. They bring you aboard to help some prick and his dyin' son and then once everyone's attention is on you, your crew here sneaks up from behind and slaughters the whole ship! Bahahaha!" Tears started leaking from his eyes from laughing so hard. "That's some cold tactics even by _my_ standards."

The rest of his crew joined in the laughter, but they didn't notice a change in Doc's attitude. With every word Froke spoke, his body went stiffer and stiffer and his face paler and paler. Like usual, talking wasn't an option any longer.

Rook and Alec caught on to this. These guys were only interested in treasure and hurting people. Doc couldn't complain about what happened now.

Their laughter finished, Froke and his crew smiled at them, their weapons gleaming in the sunlight. "Well now, lads. Are ye ready?" The crew let out a cheer, to which Froke nodded his head in approval. "Then have at 'em! Take anything shiny and not nailed to the floor!"

The first ones to move were directly behind Alec. Two guys with clubs jumped at him, weapons raised. He just scowled as they neared. Barely giving them a glance, his cutlasses slashed across their bodies, repelling them and causing blood to splatter on the deck.

The two started yowling in pain and holding their wounds, but that caused Alec's scowl to deepen. "Hey now, no need to get all dramatic. You're not going to die or anything." He imbedded his swords into the floor on either side of their heads and smiled maliciously down at them. "But I'm going to make sure this hurts like hell!"

They gave strangled cries before passing out in fear. But while Alec had been playing with them, he hadn't noticed three more men charging passed Rook and brought their weapons down on him. His eyes flashed in panic as he didn't have enough time to pull his swords from the floor to defend himself.

But just before they reached him, all three suddenly dropped their weapons with surprised looks on their faces. One by one, they dropped to the ground with pained groans. Curious, Alec grabbed his swords and stood over them. All three had been shot in the backs. He glared angrily at Rook. "Rook, what the hell!?"

The smith just raised an eyebrow. "What? You're a big boy so you can take care of yourself."

Alec shook his head and stomped up to his crewmate. "Not that. Why the hell did you shoot them? You could have hit me you dumbass!" He complained angrily.

Now he was confused. "I don't know what you're talking about." He waved his empty hands. "Does it look like I'm carrying a gun?"

Now that he mentioned it, he had never seen Rook shoot somebody. He'd never even seen him hold a gun. He looked back at the unconscious pirates. Then who had shot them?

Before he could contemplate further, they heard Froke screaming furiously. "What are ye bastards waiting for? Kill them already!" He was stomping his foot on the deck and waving his rapier like a child throwing a tantrum. That combined with the fact that his fat rolls were jiggling with the motions made the scene almost comical. His eyes were bloodshot when he proclaimed, "The next person to get beat will go without food for the next three days." He started to drool a little. "And they'll have to watch as I eat their meals instead."

Doc, Rook, and Alec all grimaced. "At least now we know how he got so fat." Rook noted, making Alec snicker behind he hand.

The threat of going without food plus the insult drove the men into a frenzy. "How dare you talk about the Captain that way!?" One of them shouted. He, along with a group of others, launched themselves Rook. But before they could even inflict so much as a scratch or bruise, they found a single sword blocking all of them. The sword itself was shaped like a katana. The hilt was made of wood and colored a light green. The guard was a shining bronze while the blade itself gleamed in the sunlight. Hanging off the pommel was a small chain that, oddly enough, had a miniature, silver pinwheel attached to it. They were all so shocked at how the blade had suddenly appeared that they hadn't noticed who was wielding it.

Rook smiled. "No challenge at all." Pushing away at the weapons gathered on his sword, he knocked the men away and then brought back his arm to point the tip at them. He eyed them one by one as they were knocked back by the recoil. "Blitz Chess!" Lunging forward, he struck each of the men only once and the hand holding their weapon. He made sure to cut deep enough to make them drop their weapons, but not enough to cut the bone. He didn't want to handicap them after all.

They cried in pain and clutched their hands to their chests. Their crewmates, seeing their distress, decided to jump in to help but found their path blocked by a cocky looking Alec. He didn't even give them time to retaliate before spreading his arms apart as wide as he could. "Bronze Guillotine!" He brought his arms together like the execution tool from which the technique was named. Unlike Rook, he wasn't going to let them get away with just a slap on the wrist. If they wanted to fight, he wasn't holding back. Seeing another pirate he charged towards him. This one must have been new to the crew however. He was shaking in fear at Alec's approach. He was young too, still in his teens.

He didn't stand a chance when Alec cut him with his right cutlass. "Silver Strike!" He went for the throat. This little whelp was going to regret his decision to become a pirate. But whether it was intended or some manner of luck, the youth brought up his sword to parry him, his entire body shaking as he did so. He managed to deflect the sword from opening his throat, but it still cut his neck. It wasn't deep, but it was enough to make a trickle of blood.

Dropping his sword, he pressed a hand to the cut and fell back away from Alec and onto the floor, staring up at him in complete and utter fear. Unimpressed by the boy, Alec scoffed at him and turned his back. "Shit kid, you've got no business being on board a pirate ship. You better head back home before someone actually kills you." The boy made a weak squeaking noise that he took to mean he got the point. Feeling frustrated by the lack of challenge, he went to go take care of the others.

Froke watched as his men fell like flies. He trembled with rage at the scene and, noticing this, Rook grinned at him. "What's the matter, fat ass? Got a problem with us beating your men?" He taunted. He rested his sword on his shoulder in a relaxed gesture. He wasn't afraid of Froke at all.

"That's it! Have at it!" He sluggishly stabbed at Rook with his rapier. It was so slow, however, that Rook calmly moved to the side. He eyed the blade as he did so too. His blood boiling, Froke made multiple quick thrusts, each one gaining more speed and accuracy as he did so. But it still wasn't enough to worry Rook. He kept on studying the man's weapon.

Finally, Rook stopped the barrage of attacks simply by grabbing the rapier with his bare hands. He stared at Froke, dead-eyed while he did so. "What are ye doing?" Froke croaked. He tried to pull his sword out of Rook's hand but it wasn't budging. "Let go, you fool!"

"The rapier is mostly used for quick, precise movements." Rook said in monotone. "And with a one-handed style like you use, it especially emphasizes the need to quickly get into your opponents space so you can hit them before they can retaliate." He sighed and, with a forceful pull, yanked the weapon out of Froke's hand. "I can tell by looking at the sword that you were once a good swordsman. You excelled at fencing." He looked at the obese man and shook his head sadly. "But you've grown fat and slow. You can't even use the techniques you once relied upon anymore. And look at this." He palmed the tip of the rapier and showed him how it didn't even break his skin. "The tip is dull from the way you've been using it like…like a cane!" He said the word 'cane' like it was a swear word. His eyes slowly filled with fire and hate as he looked at the man who was trying to back away. "Seriously, how have you managed to survive out here?"

"Sh-Shut up you brat!" Froke yelled in shaky defiance. He pointed at Rook and yelled, "Boys! Kill him now! Now you hear me?"

When none of his men moved to follow his order, he looked around in confusion…only to find all of his men on the ground either unconscious or groaning with Alec sheathing his cutlasses with a bored look on his face. "Sorry, tubby. I don't think any of them are in any position to listen to you."

All the blood drained from his face. With a scream he tried to run back on his ship, but Rook grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back. Falling off balance, Froke fell with a thud on his back.

Sighing, Rook crouched next to him and yelled back at Alec, "Yo, go get me some rope for this guy. Might as well tie him up before he tries anything stupid."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Alright. But what are we going to do with these guys?"

Rook shrugged. "I don't really care what we do with his crew, but we're on the Grand Line. Most pirate captains have a bounty on their heads here. Might as well keep this guy until we reach the next island. We might be able to make some cash off his head." Tears started flowing down Froke's cheeks at their plan and started begging for them to release him, but he was ignored.

Meanwhile, Doc was going around the deck and checking the wounds of everyone that got hurt. Many only had minor wounds, cuts and bruises. For them he just bandaged up and told them to wait in a group. For others, like the ones Alec slashed open, he had to get out a needle and give a few stitches. Most of them didn't scream or shout or anything, they just looked at Doc in confusion.

When he reached the young boy whose neck Alec had cut, Doc glared at the thief. "How many times have I told you now, Alec?" He seethed. "No vital areas! What if you had killed this poor boy?"

Alec scoffed in irritation. "Hey, he's alive isn't he? And that's barely a scratch!" He said in his defense.

Doc used a cloth from his pocket to wipe away the blood so that he could see the cut better. He was right, it was just a scratch. It bled a lot, but it wasn't going to endanger him. "That's no excuse." He shot back. "I told you when you joined this crew, we fight if we have to but we never kill." He wrapped his neck in gauze to stanch the bleeding. While there was no danger to his life, he still wanted to prevent infection. Once that was done, he marched over to his crewmate and looked directly into his eyes. He was mad. "One more chance. If this happens again, we're taking you back where we found you." He narrowed his eyes. "And last I remembered, you have an outstanding warrant there, which is why you joined my crew in the first place."

Alec ground his teeth together in frustration as he tried to come up with a retort for his captain. But he _had_ promised not to kill anyone. And he _had_ attacked to kill the guy. He knew what kind of mood Doc was in. He wasn't going to let up without an apology. "Fine. I'm sorry, all right?" He said through gritted teeth. Then he perked up as he remembered something. "Now that that's all cleared up," happily, he turned around and practically skipped his way towards Froke's ship, "let's go see how much these guys were packing!"

Doc sighed in resignation while Rook grinned and called out, "Be sure to let us know what you find! I want my pick of treasure before we put it all away." Alec gave him a thumbs up as he crossed the gangplanks.

Rook was about to head back inside the ship when he remembered something. Turning around, he saw Froke trying to crawl away in the direction of his ship. "That little bastard didn't get me any rope!" He shouted as he pulled Froke back.

Smiling slightly at Rook, Doc turned to Froke's crew. "Any of you know anything about medicine?" He called out.

The crew looked at each other and muttered while shaking their heads. Doc rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand. Yet another crew without a doctor. But before he could voice that complaint, the young man raised his hand, which wasn't shaking as badly now. "I-I know a little bit." He said softly.

Doc raised an eyebrow and studied the boy more closely. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes. He wasn't marked up by scars like the majority of the rest of the crew. His clothes also looked a bit nicer as well. He might not have had much experience, but even a little medical knowledge was better than none at all. "Okay." He said in a lighter tone. "Then take these bandages and this disinfectant." He gave the boy what he had on hand. "Be sure to change everyone's bandages in a few hours." He instructed. "And for the ones with stitches, spread this paste on them so they don't get infected." Then a thought occurred to him as he looked at what little he had given him. "This probably isn't enough for this many people though." He turned to head below deck. "Give me a second and I'll go get some more for you."

He went to leave, but before he could, the boy outstretched an arm and called, "W-Wait. Why are you doing this for us? We tried to kill you."

Doc turned back to him and looked at him with a smile on his face. "Because I wasn't lying when I said I was a doctor." He simply said. "When people get hurt, it is my job to fix them back up, regardless if they were beaten up by my idiot crew."

At the 'idiot' comment, Rook, who was now sitting on Froke's back, shouted, "Hey, it's their fault!" His sword was now sheathed, though nobody had seen where the sheath came from, and he was using it to dig into Froke's back so he wouldn't try to get up.

Doc waved his hand apologetically at Rook then motioned for them to stay there. "Once you have your supplies, you can go ahead and leave." He sweat dropped and added, "Oh, but you'll probably have to find a new Captain."

At that point, Alec was crossing the gangplanks again with a very satisfied look on his face and a bulging bag over his shoulder. "Captain!" He said euphorically. "These guys had a good haul." Opening the bag, he revealed that it was filled with gold coins, beri bills, gems, and even a jewel encrusted gold crown.

One of the crew grabbed his head and yelled in dismay. "No! Even with Captain, we'd be broke if you took all that. How are we supposed to buy food?"

Alec scowled at them. "Hey, you should have thought about that before picking a fight with us."

Doc put up a hand to calm the two. "Now, now. No need to get upset." Reaching into the sack, he pulled out the golden crown and tossed it over to the boy on top of the bandages and medicine he had already given him.

Alec looked at him like he was insane. "What are you doing? That thing must be worth a fortune." He said frantically.

Doc knew that he was going to say something. Alec loved treasure and money more than almost anything. That's just the way he was. "Err…just consider it my cut of the treasure."

Still thinking that he was crazy, Alec closed the bag and headed for the door. "If you say so. But man, you are _way_ too generous. People are going to take advantage of that one of these days." He was about to open the door when he accidentally kicked something. Looking down, he saw a lone pistol lying by the door. Curious, he reached down and picked it up. It was still warm like it had been fired recently. His mind went back to that moment in the fight when the three men had been shot. He furrowed his brow in confusion. But why would the gun be all the way over here? And who fired it? None of the pirates had been over here, and he couldn't think of any of his crew who were. None of them used guns to begin with…but what could that mean?

Turning back to ask Doc if he had any ideas, he saw him freaking out over three men who were still bleeding. "Oh no! These guys have been shot!" He exclaimed loudly. "Quickly, someone bring me some tweezers and sanitizer!"

Deciding that if Doc saw him with the gun, he would probably lay the blame on him. And Doc had already warned him once. If he thought that Alec had shot those guys, he might really kick him off the ship. He pocketed the pistol and quietly went below deck. He would try to figure it out later.

* * *

Later that night, Doc, Rook, Alec, and Maya were sitting in the kitchen eating dinner. Not far off and tied to a support beam was Froke who stared at them with pitiful eyes. "Please!" He shouted desperately. "If you're going to turn me in, don't I at least get a last meal?"

Maya glowered at him and raised a knife threateningly. "One more word out of you, and I'll cut all that fat off you like a steak!"

Whimpering, Froke scooted as far away from her as his ropes would let him. And silently tried to ignore his grumbling stomach. Giving pity on the man, Doc called to him, "Don't worry. You'll get some of the leftovers later." He would have gotten up to give him food now, but then he remembered how he had said he'd let his crew starve so he decided that he could wait a little bit.

"You and that bleeding heart of yours." Maya scolded, poking at him with the knife. "One of these days, someone is going to make you regret being so nice."

"That's what I said!" Alec said as he chewed on some rice.

"Easy with that thing." Doc warned, trying to get away from her prodding knife. He had already used up a lot of bandages on the pirates and he didn't want to use any more. "And it's not like we can let him starve."

Rook could help but laugh between bites of fried fish. "It would probably take him a while to starve anyway." He chuckled.

When Rook spoke, Alec swallowed and studied his part of the table. Not only did he have a large plate piled with fish, meat, and rice, but he also had a second plate filled with a second helping. This was in spite of the fruits, vegetables, and jugs of water and booze that were scattered around the table. "Well you're one to talk. Every time we sit down to eat, you have two plates. I'm surprised you're not the size of a ship." He pointed out. And it was true. For some reason, Rook always ate enough for two people.

Rook and, oddly enough, Doc both froze and started to sweat. Rook rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and refused to make eye contact with him. "T-that's just because I have a high metabolism." He said with a stutter. "All that forging really burns off the calories." He tried to pass it off as a joke and laughed weakly.

Doc picked up on it and started laughing too, though not any more convincing as Rook. "Yeah, plus all that heat from the fire makes him sweat a bunch. It's no wonder that he has to eat a lot to make up for all the energy and fluids he uses up."

Alec studied the two, unconvinced. They were definitely hiding something. He may not have been on the crew that long, but there was definitely something fishy going on.

Sensing his skepticism, Rook quickly emptied the rest of his meal into his mouth before picking up his second plate and running for the door. "S-Speaking of which, I've got some metal waiting for me in the forge. I better not leave it for too long. Thanks for the meal Maya!"

"Just bring those dishes back once you're done." The mermaid said sternly. "I'm not your maid or anything."

The door slammed shut behind him while Doc and Maya went back to their meals. But Alec stood up and pointed at the door. "And then there's that. Why does he ALWAYS finish eating at his forge? I've never once seen him finish eating at the table."

"Just forget about it." Maya said, chewing on some broccoli. "Everyone has their quirks and that's one of his."

"Y-yeah." Doc said trying to calm him down. "It doesn't do any harm, so we might as well just let him do what he wants."

Alec turned his gaze to his captain and looked at him suspiciously. "…You know something don't you?" He asked. He might not be able to get any info out of Rook, but Doc was a pushover. It didn't take much to get him talking.

Doc put up his hands defensively and tried to wave off his suspicions. "I have n-no idea what you're talking about. What could give you that idea?"

Alec sighed at the obvious lie. He may have been an amazing doctor, but he was a horrible liar. Like one of the worst he had ever seen. It was so clear that he was lying that even a child would be able to tell. "Well whatever." He said in resignation. If Doc wasn't going to talk, it would be wrong of him to antagonize him. He was Captain after all. And he guessed he needed to act a little nicer after Doc got so mad at him earlier. If it was really important, they would have told him. Better to just let it drop for now.

Finishing his food, he got up and wiped his mouth. "Thanks for the meal." He said to Maya. Then he untied the end of Froke's rope and led him to the door. "I'll take first watch." He said. He needed some fresh air.

"Oh. Okay." Doc said in surprise. Undoing the strap on his wrist, he tossed the Log Pose to him. "Come get us if anything comes up. I'll be out later to give Froke something to eat."

Alec waved at them. "Yeah, yeah." Walking up the stairs to the deck, he led their prisoner over the mast and tied him to it. "Try anything funny and I'll gut you like a pig." He said flatly. Froke tried to protest, but Alec ignored him as he climbed up to the Crow's Nest. Once he was settled, he checked the Log Pose to make sure it was still pointing in the right direction. All was well for now.

Pulling a small sack out of his pocket, he opened it up to show a small handful of coins and gems. He grinned from ear to ear as he looked at them and rubbed them against his cheek. "Oh sweet treasure, how I adore you!"

"Oi! Get your grubby hands off my treasure." Froke yelled up at him.

Alec put on an intimidating face and looked down at the man. "Eh? Your treasure? You lost your right to it when you attacked us so it is mine now."

But Froke wasn't going to be dissuaded. He stomped his foot and retorted, "Just you wait till I get out of these ropes. I'll kill you and take back all of my treasure from your dirty hands."

"What part of 'gut you like a pig' didn't you understand, tubby?" Alec shouted with one leg over the rim of the Nest. He was ready to jump down there and beat some sense into him.

The two shouted back and forth for at least an hour until Doc came out with Froke's meal. He shut up quickly as he gorged himself on the leftover meat and rice that Doc gave him. Alec gave a "humph" and sat back down in the Crow's Nest before going back to adoring his loot.

But while all this was happening, none of them noticed a shadowy figure in the Helm Room. The moon's light reflected slightly off a mask covering the top half of his face and the Log Pose on his wrist. It also revealed a pistol holstered at his side.

He gazed out into the night silently as he steered the ship, unknown by any that he was there.

* * *

 **And there you have it. Please let me know what you thought of it. Especially the fight scene. While this one was intended to be short and simple, I'm not the greatest when it comes to writing fight scenes. If you have any tips, please let me know.**

 **Till next time!**


	3. Stowaway

**Hello everyone. I'm glad to see such a good turnout for the second chapter. Warms the heart, it does.**

 **But before I can go down the dark road of sentimentality and tears, I need to share some news that I forgot about last chapter. Once a month, I take a weekend off to go out of town. On those weekends, I have to drive four and a half hours there and four and a half hours back, making a total of nine hours behind the wheel. Needless to say, I am very exhausted when I get back on Sundays. So on those weekends, (such as last weekend) I will not update simply because my brain is a giant pile of mush. (Bows) I hope you all understand.**

 **Now then, let's get this show on the road!**

* * *

The ship was pulling up to a beach not far from the docks of a nearby town. Normally they would want to pull directly into the docks, but with them being pirates and all, that made things difficult with the locals.

As they weighed anchor and threw down the rope ladder, Alec was mumbling to himself as he lead Froke by rope. "Why am _I_ the one that has to take tubby to the Marines?"

Hearing his grumbling, Maya smacked him on the back of the head. "Because," she started angrily, "Doc has a bounty on his head, I'm a mermaid, and Rook has pissed of too many Marines already."

Rook chuckled as he walked by with a barrel full of weapons. "Sorry bastards. Always good for a laugh."

"Shut it!" Maya screamed at him threateningly. "It's your fault we get run out of so many towns." She huffed. "Besides, you already kind of look like a bounty hunter. Marines won't think twice when you come in towing a pirate."

"And what about my warrant, huh?" Alec asked quizzically. "For all we know, I could walk in and they would jump on me in a heartbeat. Then I'd be in jail right next to this guy." He said, pointed at Froke with his thumb.

Doc walked up to them and answered his question. In his hand, he held his doctor's bag filled with herbs, medicines, bandages, and equipment. "Actually, not so much. You're warrant is limited to Delfino Island." He said, referring to Alec's home island. It had been a nice place, but they hadn't been able to stay long before they were run out of town. "Pirates are about the only bounties that span across all the islands, making them the Marines' problem. But you're a thief, which makes you the problem of the local kingdom. The Marines don't even know who you are." He patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "You'll be fine."

Maya nodded in agreement with Doc's explanation. "Now you." She glared at Froke, who froze and tensed at her angry presence. "Make one funny move and I swear to god that I will _drown_ you. Understand?"

Froke gulped and nodded hurriedly as Alec pulled him to the ladder. He seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, shaking and muttering morosely to himself as Alec lead him away.

Doc shook his head with a slight smile as he watched them go. Froke had brought it upon himself so he couldn't feel too bad about turning the ex-captain in. Plus, they would be able to buy some more medicine with the money they earned from his bounty, if he had one.

Looking over at Rook, he studied the barrels and boxes of weaponry. They had to be wary of any Marines they encountered, but the two of them would head over to the town's shopping district and set up shop for the evening. Rook would sell the weapons he forged during the trip form the last island. They usually made some good money through Rook's sales. Though he was a pirate, he made good quality work. People were usually happy with their purchases, which in turn made Rook happy. And whatever they couldn't sell, they went to the local smiths and weapons shops and sold the excess to them.

Walking over to a large, ornate box, Doc opened it to reveal a two-handed broadsword. Its craftsmanship was of a much higher quality than those stored in barrels and boxes. While Rook made many weapons based solely on a whim, he also took custom orders. This particular broadsword was tempered in such a way that the edges of the blade were a dark bronze color. The hilt was a dark wood to match the bronze of the blade. It was also decorated with some sort of emblem. It was a circle with a bull bucking, ready to charge with its horns. From what Doc could tell, it looked like a family crest or something.

Noticing Doc, Rook walked over and folded his arms together with a satisfied look on his face. "She's a beauty ain't she?" He asked with a hint of pride in his voice. "A customer on the last island hired me to make it for the son of some noble family here." He explained gesturing to the town not far away. "So before we start up business, I'll need to swing by their mansion to deliver it. It's supposed to be a coming of age gift I think."

Doc raised an eyebrow and shook his head in a small amount of amusement. "You do realize that this noble son is probably going to become a Marine right? Why else would a family commission a sword for a present? You might very well end up on the business end of this sword someday." He pointed out.

Rook waved him off. "For all we know, it is just going to sit on his wall for fifty years. Besides, even if we do have to fight him some day," he grinned wolfishly, "I will never lose to a sword _I_ created."

A small shiver went down Doc's spine. He had no doubt that was true. For every weapon he made, he must know the weakness in every single one. Closing the box, he handed it respectfully to the smith and cast a look at Maya. She simply rolled her eyes at the two.

"Just don't go giving anything away for cheap. If we don't have enough for food, you are going hungry until we reach the next island." She threatened. "Alec is right, you eat way too much. If I'm going to cook for four people, I should make it-."

Before she could finish, Rook jumped forward and pressed a hand to her mouth to silence her. He had a slightly panicked look on his face. "Okay, okay! No need to go telling the whole world, you know." His slightly panicked looked turned to sheer terror as Maya's features went from annoyed to livid.

"Uh…that probably wasn't the best idea." Doc said meekly, pointing at how he was keeping her quiet. His face went pale as Maya's hand raised, and in it a wicked sharp knife, above Rook's head.

Realizing his life was in danger, Rook immediately jumped back, tucked the box under his arm and jumped over the rail of the ship and onto the beach below. "I'll come back for the rest later!" He shouted back at them. He ran for town as fast as he could to escape the mermaid's wrath.

Maya huffed as he fled. "If he wants me to make him lunch after that stunt, he better forget it." She steamed.

Doc raised his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Don't worry, I'm sure he didn't mean any harm." He took a startled step back as her seething eyes fell on him in a glare. "B-But I'll be sure to let him know he better find something to eat in town." Then he too jumped ship and ran for it, leaving the angry Maya to fume in peace.

As he entered town, he started looking around questioningly. While Rook took care of his business, he would be on the search for anyone needing his help. On said search, he came upon a small boy sitting dejectedly in an alleyway. There were a lot of cuts and bruises on his body, but the worst would was a large gash just above his eyebrow. He approached him, but he slowed as the boy tensed and stared at Doc. Studying his dirty and ragged clothes, the boy was probably an orphan.

Doc smiled reassuringly to him and slowly set down his bag. "Don't be afraid." He said soothingly. "I'm a doctor." He glanced at the wound on his forehead. "Why don't you let me take a look at that? It would be dangerous if you don't get it treated." The boy started backing away from him. He was used to that kind of reaction, an orphan on the streets would have no reason to trust him. But he always planned for these kinds of events. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a small loaf of bread and offered it to him with a smile. "You must be hungry. Why don't you eat this while I see to that cut on your head?"

The boy's stomach growled hungrily as he looked at the bread. Tentatively, he got up and walked over to Doc, his wary eyes darting all around to make sure there wasn't anyone else around. Taking the bread, he immediately started shoving it into his mouth. He was so busy eating that he didn't even notice Doc pulling out supplies from his bag. Sitting behind him, he held a cotton ball soaked with disinfectant with some tweezers. Putting a gentle hand on his head to keep it steady, he brought the ball close to the cut. "Now this may sting a little." He warned. "But try to tough it out." When he dabbed at the wound, the boy winced and only Doc's hand kept him in place. He held his eyes shut, but he didn't scream or try to run. That was a good sign. At least he knew Doc was trying to help. "There we go." He said after cleaning the wound. That done, he started wrapping his head in a bandage, making sure it stayed on nice and tight. "Now I know things can get a little hard sometimes, but try not to get hurt like this again." He said to the boy.

The child just looked at him with a mixture of confusion and awe. Doc smiled and patted him on the head. "You can't be happy if you keep getting hurt. The less pain you're in, the better things are, right?"

He smiled warmly at the boy, but didn't stop him with he started backing away from him. Once he was a certain distance away, he turned tail and ran from him down the alley. Doc watched him with a smile until he turned a corner and out of sight. Then his smile turned sad. He had been there this time, but if got hurt like that again, Doc probably won't be here. It always made him sad to see a child in that kind of condition.

But there wasn't anything he could do about it, other than pray that the boy would be able to grow up healthy. With a sigh, he got up and closed his bag. Walking back onto the main street, he adjusted his hat so that it would block the sun from his eyes. This island had definitely been the source of the hot weather they had encountered at sea. There was no doubt it was a summer island.

He still had a long day ahead of him. This was always something Doc went through when they came to a new town. There were always people in need of a doctor.

As the day went on, Doc helped a handful of people. After leaving the boy, he encountered a young widow whose son was running a high fever, an elderly woman who had been bed ridden for three days, a man with a broken arm, and more than one beggar that had been worn down by exposure to the elements. For each one, he put all of his knowledge into helping them. The young boy would be as good as new by morning; All Doc needed to do for him was administer a medicine that lowered his temperature and kill the bug that he had caught. The matron was a bit trickier since her immune system was worn with age. Turned out that she had a stomach virus that was the cause of her symptoms. It would take a few days for the medicine he gave to kick in, but she was already showing some relief. It didn't take him long to fix the man's arm. After resetting the bone, he bound it in a splint and cast to make sure that it wouldn't move out of position.

For each case, people offered to pay him for his services out of gratitude. But he turned down each one. "A doctor doesn't need to be paid for helping people." He tried to explain when the old woman's family offered him a billfold of cash. "Just make sure you stay whole and healthy and that's good enough for me." He said with a wave.

As he was walking through town, he came across Rook, who was sitting down in the market square with his wares around him. He was waving at a Marine who had just bought an axe from him. "Thanks for the business." He called.

Doc waited until the Marine was out of sight before going up to Rook. "How's business going?" He asked curiously. Although without asking, he could tell that he was doing pretty well. A lot of the barrels around him were emptier than they had been on the ship.

Rook looked up at him with a grin on his face. "Good." He motioned where the Marine had gone. "That guy's got a good future ahead of him. Good balance, perfect muscle tension, and an excellent eye in weaponry…" he had to add that last part cheekily. "Plus a sound moral compass." He nodded to himself. "Definitely a bright future."

Doc smiled at how pleased he was. Rook always loved gauging his customers. It made him ecstatic when he found a promising customer. "Let me guess," he said slyly, "you gave him a discount didn't you?"

Rook froze. "…Don't tell Maya." He was still smiling, but he was sitting eerily still and sweat started beading his brow out of fear of what Maya would do to him if she found out.

Doc could only laugh. "Don't worry, my lips are sealed." Putting a hand on top of his hat, he looked up at the sun that blazed brightly in the sky. "Bit passed lunch rush so business should start slowing down." He mentioned. "Why don't we get something to eat? Think I saw some restaurants around here that weren't too crowded."

That put Rook back in a good mood. "Sounds good to me. I'm starving!" Standing up, he started tying down and binding his wares. Couldn't just leave them there for anyone to snatch.

But before he could tie up more than two barrels, a commotion from down the street caught their attention. With raised eyebrows, they noticed a lot of people looking down that direction as well. Walking over to get a better view, they were startled to see Alec running towards them as fast as he could. Even more startling were the Marines hot on his trail.

"Captain, we gotta move!" He yelled frantically, a hint of anger seeping in. "That fat bastard sold us out!"

As he screamed, a second and third patrol of Marines came into view on either side of them, running out from behind buildings and alleyways as if they had been waiting to charge them.

"Shit!" Rook swore. He gave a mournful glance at the weapons he was leaving behind as Alec reached them. With Doc in tow, they followed the thief at a dead sprint. Those poor weapons would doubtlessly be confiscated by the Marines. But he didn't have time to grab them and bring them back to the ship. He screamed in frustration as the three groups of Marines merged together in their pursuit.

Luckily for them, they wouldn't risk shooting them out of fear of hitting innocent bystanders. That meant they had a chance of getting out of this unscathed if only they could reach the ship in time.

Those thoughts were quickly dashed as they found a fourth patrol waiting for them at the end of town, blocking their exit.

Doc resisted the urge to curse. Glancing at his two comrades, he said, "Split up! Whatever you do, try not to cause too much damage and make it back to the ship as soon as you can." An uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. "If they know about us, they might know about Maya."

Alec and Rook nodded their heads in understanding. Then the three of them immediately split. Alec kept running straight, directly at the Marine's blocking his path while Doc and Rook ran down roads branching off to the right and left.

As they fled, they heard one voice over the Marine's shout, "After them! Squad B, to the right. Squad C, you come with us. Our informant said he saw this man pull a sword out of thin air. He might be a Devil Fruit user!"

"Oh come on!" Rook shouted angrily as two patrols of men branched off to follow him. "How is this fair!?" He picked up speed and ran as fast as he could until he found himself stopped by a stone wall. "Shit." Turning around, he hoped to have enough to race down one of the other alleys, but found his path blocked by the Marines.

He scowled at them as he backed up to put his back to the wall. Doc didn't want them to fight, but it seemed he didn't have a choice now.

He raised his hand to pull out his sword, but before he could he hear a man shout, "Fire!" Before he could react, a man holding what looked like a musket fired a bundle of…something. Oddly enough, he wasn't aiming at Rook's chest or head, but at his raised hand. With the pain of having a rock shot at his wrist, he cried out and looked to find a pair of stone handcuffs, with one of the cuffs locked around his arm.

Seeing the cuffs, he knew exactly what they were…and then started to laugh. Loudly. "Aw man!" He said between fits of laughter. "You guys just used up a perfectly good chance to kill me. For what? Seastone cuffs?"

One man, probably greener than the others, yelled indignantly, "Quiet! This is standard procedure concerning suspected Devil Fruit users."

Rook laughed some more before raising his hand again. Behind him, his shadow loomed higher and darker than it should have with the given light. As they all watched, it began to ripple a disturbed puddle of water. And out of those ripples came the same sword he had used against Froke and his men, the bronze pinwheel spinning from the force of it being ejected from his shadow. With the flick of his wrist, Rook caught the blade and brandished it towards the Marines.

"H-How did he do that?" One of them demanded. The ones closes to Rook started backing away, fear crawling onto their faces. They could get far before the ones behind them halted their progress. "He shouldn't be able to use his powers with those cuffs on!"

Rook grinned maliciously as he dashed forward and cut down the man who had spoken. Then he hopped back to his original position by the wall. "Who said I was a Devil Fruit user?" He asked with a smile. But that confidence was just a front. Inside, he was worried. There were too many men. He doubted he could get passed them all, especially without killing any of them. But despite that, he gripped his sword tightly. He wasn't going down without a fight.

But it didn't look like they were going to let him fight at all. Pulling the downed man behind their ranks, three men stepped to the front with rifles in their hands. "Ready!" The men got down on their knees to steady their guns against their shoulders. "Aim!" The aimed directly at Rook's chest. "Fire!"

The sound of three shots rang through the air. But even though Rook closed his eyes, tensed and readied himself for the bite of steel ripping into his flesh, it never came. Opening one eye, he saw that the three gunman had bullet wounds in their shoulders. They each fell to the ground as the men behind them backed away in fear.

"Where did those shots come from?" One man shouted.

They began muttering softly, looking around for the sniper. One man, apparently smarter than the others, bent down to examine their fallen comrades. "The trajectory of these wounds…they came from him." He pointed at Rook, who wasn't looking at them, but rubbing his temples as if he had a headache.

"You know, it always gets complicated when you get involved." He said, seemingly to no one.

The men were thinking he was insane before they saw his shadow start to ripple again. They all backed away, afraid of what was going to come out of it next.

Slowly, a man emerged. First his head, then his torso. His chest was covered in a black vest with a white dress shirt underneath. His medium length brown hair was neatly combed and he held a pistol in each hand, smoke emanating from the barrels. The top half of his face was hidden by a black half-mask that shined in the sunlight.

"Hide-Hide Stowaway." He said calmly as his torso fully emerged from Rook's shadow. His voice was quieter and more subdued than Rook's was, but something about him was very similar to the smith.

"Bishop." Rook said with a sigh. "You do know what'll happen if word about you gets out right?"

Bishop looked down at him steadily. "If I hadn't come out, you would be dead right now."

Rook's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "...Okay, you got me there." He readied his blade, despite the cuffs that dangled from his wrist. "Just don't come crying to me when Maya beats the shit out of you."

* * *

 **There you are. I really do hope you liked it. (Bows formally) For those of you who read my last story "Pumpkin King", you know that I usually didn't produce long chapters like this. But I've found that I'm more satisfied with longer chapters than I was with multiple shorter ones. It just took way too long for anything to happen.**

 **But, again, I hope you all enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think and I'll see you next chapter.**

 **Till then!**


	4. Mermaid Combat

**This chapter might be a little shorter than normal. The muse just doesn't feel like cooperating for some reason. I'll make it up to you with a longer one on Sunday.**

 **On to the story!**

* * *

Before the Marines had time to react to the sudden reinforcement, Bishop jumped out of Rook's shadow fully, exposing the rest of his body. His dress pants were a black that matched his vest, and there was nary a crease or wrinkle to be seen. His black shoes shined as if freshly polished.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he lunged to the side, pistols ready. He fired two shots in succession. The first landed in the hand of the man who had fired the Seastone cuffs at Rook. It would be bothersome if he tried firing another at Bishop. The second went clean through the shoulder of a nearby Marine.

That seemed to bring them back up to speed. Seeing two more of their men taken down enrage them into action. Two pirates had single-handedly incapacitated a quarter of their force. One man, his muscles made him seem more thuggish than the rest of them, charged at Bishop with an axe in his hands. With a battle cry, he lifted the weapon and brought it down right on top of his head. But before the metal could bite into his flesh, Rook jumped between them and parried him with his sword.

"Stay away from my brother!" He roared. Using his weight against him, Rook suddenly backed away. Without Rook's sword to push against his attack, the man fell forward, creating an opening for Rook to slash him across the back. He collapsed with a groan and Rook flicked his sword to get rid of some of the blood. He glared menacingly at the remaining men. "If any of you bastards want to go after my brother, you have to go through me first."

The aura he gave off reminded the Marines of a wolf staring at his prey. The men closes to Rook gulped and tried to hide their fear, but their faces had gone a little pale.

Behind Rook, Bishop gave a small smile and a chuckle at his brother's comment. "Tough talk for someone who is behind."

Rook blinked. Then he turned to Bishop. "Huh?" He asked in confusion. "Behind in what? Have I missed something?"

Bishop calmly reloaded his pistols as he explained, "Behind in score. I've beaten five men. You've only beaten two. That means I'm ahead of you." His guns loaded, he aimed at the remaining Marines and smiled. And it was at that time that they all realized something. Rook may have been a wolf, but Bishop was a demon. Whereas Rook fought for self-preservation, Bishop was about to hunt them down like it was some sort of game.

An evil aura fell from the brothers as Rook turned around. Their eyes practically gleamed with malice as they both readied their weapons. "So that's how it is." Rook said with a dark smile. "Then I bet tonight's dessert that I'll win."

Bishop matched his smile with one of his own. "You're on."

The walls echoed with the screams of desperate men.

* * *

As Rook and Bishop fought their own opponents, Doc had managed to weave his way through alleys and backroads until he managed to leave the city and flee towards his ship. Luckily for him, he was just a bit faster than the men chasing him. He was halfway there, able to see the ship, when he stopped and stared in horror. His ship was surrounded by Marines. But he was used to those kinds of scenarios. They were pirates after all, it wasn't that uncommon for Marines to ambush them at their ship. What scared him was the Marines were firing their guns. Though there weren't aiming at the ship. They were shooting into the water. And if Doc looked carefully, he could see someone swimming quickly around the ship, narrowly avoiding the gunfire.

That someone was Maya. Only a mermaid could swim that fast. As if to clear away any doubts of that, Maya jumped out of the water in an arc over the ship. She was wearing a red bikini top. She must have already been swimming or sunbathing when the Marines had shown up. The water glistened beautifully around her, her tail practically sparkling in the sunlight, a complete contrast to the ugly look she was giving the ones firing at her. Yet despite the anger and scorn on her features, there were more than one sounds of admiration. That wasn't surprising. Many men considered mermaids to the pinnacle of beauty.

But unfortunately for them, Maya didn't care if they found here beautiful. As she swam by the edge of the beach, she extended her arms apart. "Mermaid Combat, Slipstream!" She clapped her hands together and the water around her pulsed. The waves of the ocean suddenly grew and attacked the shore all along the beach. The men that had strayed too close to the water screamed as the waves pulled them in. But even from the moment they were submerged, they tried swimming to the surface.

Maya wasn't going to give them the chance. She swam in circles around them and dove underneath. Some of the more hotheaded men tried to fire at her, but found that to be pointless. The sudden dunk in the water had wetted their gunpowder. Their pistols and rifles were now useless.

Smirking at their helplessness, Maya slowly swam in a circle. Then she pulled her arm back in a throwing motion. "Mermaid Combat, Alluvial Fan!" The water beneath the men started to churn and bubble as Maya shot a current of water at them. They were suddenly rocketed into the air by a geyser. They scream while some tried waving and flapping their arms in an attempt to fly away from the ocean. They didn't want to fight a mermaid in her home turf. But they soon found that they couldn't go back underwater even if they wanted to. Every time they started to fall, they geyser propelled them back in the air over and over again, both harming them and ripping at their clothes.

One of the men that was still on shore, eyed the others as they thrown into the air. Then he turned to Maya, who now had her head above water. "Stop this senseless fighting." He said commandingly. "You have no reason to fight for these pirates. Come with us willingly to give testimony against them and we'll see to it that you are returned to Fishman Island."

Both Maya and Doc were shocked by that declaration. It must not have occurred to him that Maya herself was a pirate, not a captive. Maya sneered at him. "And why the hell should I believe you?" She seethed. "You humans are all the same. The moment I go with you, I'll end up with a collar around my neck to be sold to the highest bidder."

One of the younger Marines stepped forward with an angry look on his face. "How dare you say that to the Captain!?" He shouted. "Slavery isn't legal in-."

The man didn't get to say another word before his Captain cut him off by putting his arm in front of him. He never took his eyes off of Maya, who was now almost shaking with suppressed anger. "You have the gal to look me in the eye and say there's no slavery? Mermaids are hunted viciously by you humans. Most are too afraid to leave our home island because they are scared they will end up the property of some sleazy _noble_." Her anger blossomed as she sent another Slipstream to drag them into the water. But the Captain was more careful then his subordinates. He pushed his men back and jumped out of the way of the attack.

Looking down at the mermaid, he sighed wearily, disgust seeping into his voice. "I tried to show compassion and this is what I get. This is why you, who are less than human, will always be seen as nothing more than an animal." He raised a hand and said, "Open fire!"

As the men once again shot at Maya, Doc was about to dash towards them to help her. He wasn't sure what he could do, but he wouldn't let her get hurt. But just as he stepped forward, he felt someone put a gun to his head.

"Don't move and put 'em where I can see 'em."

Doc froze and slowly raised his hands in surrender. He glanced to the side to see a burly looking Marine smiling maliciously at him. In his hands was the rifle that was currently pressed against Doc's temple.

The man chuckled at having Doc under his power. But just as he was about to order him to do something else, the tables turned.

"Step away from our Captain."

With a sound of surprise, the Marine froze and glanced around him. And while he did that, Doc turned around to see what was happening. On the Marine's left and right stood Alec and Rook, their swords making an 'X' over the Marine's throat. And behind him, much to Doc's surprise, was Bishop, his gun locked and loaded and pressed against the back of his head.

"If you were to hurt our Captain, we might take that a little badly." Alec said threateningly. He pressed the edge of his blade against the Marine's throat. "If that happened, I don't really like your odds of coming out of this situation alive."

Doc bristled at that. "Alec, we've talked about this!"

The thief waved at him nonchalantly. "Yeah, yeah I know. But technically, I wouldn't be part of your crew anymore because you'd be dead. So I could kill this loser if I wanted to."

The Marine was thinking furiously on how to get away from them when Alec spoke. He opened his mouth to shout at him when Bishop cocked his gun. "Not one move." He said calmly. He said it with such authority that the man truly believed that if he so much as breathed wrong, he would have a bullet in his brain.

That brought Alec's attention over to Bishop. "Who the hell are you, anyway!?" He asked loudly.

Before he had a chance to answer, Rook flipped his katana around and brought the pummel down on top of the Marine's head, knocking him unconscious.

"Uh…we'll explain that later. For now, we should probably go help Maya."

Doc intervened on that line of thought. "Wait. How did you all get away from the Marines? I mean, there were a lot of them chasing you, Rook. And you took them head on, Alec."

The two men looked at each before scratching their necks and looking away from Doc awkwardly, remembering the piles of groaning and unconscious men they had left behind. "Oh…you know…sneakiness." Rook said, plainly lying.

"…How many?" Doc wanted to know. He was rubbing his head, feeling a headache coming on. He had to resist the urge to go and help those poor men.

They answered in unison.

"Seven."

"Five."

The two looked at each other again. Rook, seething in frustration and Alec gloating arrogantly.

"Only five? Man, you're starting to slip up." Alec taunted with a grin. "Do you even know how to use that sword?"

Rook ground his teeth together, biting back his more hurtful retorts. Instead, a smile spread across his face as he pointed at his brother. "Oh yeah? Well you still got beat by Bishop!" He said with relish.

Alec looked blankly at the marksman. "Nine." He confirmed with a nod. Then he gave Rook a small smile. "I hope we're having pudding tonight." He commented, referring to the bet they had made. Bishop had won, so he got Rook's dessert for dinner that night. And he did enjoy pudding.

Both Alec and Rook simmered with frustration…though both for different reasons.

"Who are you!?" Alec shouted again.

But before he could answer, the sounds of gunfire reached their ears. All of their attentions were directed once again to Maya, who was trying to avoid being shot by the Marines at the beach.

"Less talking, more fighting!" Rook said, running towards the commotion. "We've got a mermaid to help."

* * *

 **Like I said, sorry for the shorter chapter. Especially since it is a few days late as well. Hopefully the muse is feeling livelier come Sunday.**

 **Let me know what you thought and I'll see you next time!**


	5. Escape

**Hopefully the next chapter turns out better than these last two, lengthwise. I would have rather combined them together to make one chapter.**

 **But enough of that, let's get on with the story!**

* * *

Rook, Bishop, and Alec sprinted towards Maya and the Marines with Doc close behind, one hand holding his hat in place as he ran. He couldn't fight, but he still wanted to be close to help anyone who was hurt. Though in all likelihood, he would end up being the one hurt. These Marines looked like they were shoot first, ask question later kind of guys.

The ones standing near the rear of the group were hit the hardest since they had no warning of their approach.

"Blitz Chess!"

"Bronze Guillotine!"

In a series of quick steps, slashes, and stabs, Rook ran through the crowd lightning fast and felled four Marines before they even knew what was happening.

Not to be entirely outdone, Alec's to swords came down on two that were standing near each other, cutting deep into their shoulders. Whereas Rook incapacitated his foes, Alec's fell to the ground screaming and clutching their shoulders, feeling that their arms had been practically cut off.

Bishop took a couple of shots as well. Pulling the triggers on his pistols, two men fell from his precisely aimed bullets.

They had already taken out almost half of the enemy force in a manner of seconds, but that was just a surprise attack. As their comrades fell to the ground, the Captain and the rest of the Marines stopped shooting at Maya to look at the newcomers in shock.

Making quite an entrance for themselves, Rook, Alec, and Bishop stood before the Marines with their weapons either leaning against their shoulders, holstered, or held lazily in their hands.

Alec looked at them with one eye closed. "Hey. Who gave you permission to treat our mermaid so roughly?"

He tried to give off an intimidating air, one that would strike fear into the hearts of the men standing across from him. But before he could succeed, a wave jumped up from the sea and crashed into not only him, but the men in front of him, drenching them all. Rook and Bishop were lucky enough to be far enough away from him to not get soaked.

Spitting out sea water and shaking it from his eyes, Alec glared and yelled, "What the hell was that for, fish tramp!?"

Maya's glare was both angrier and more menacing than his. "Who do you think you're calling 'our mermaid' huh?" Then his insult finally reached her. "Fish tramp!? Come over here so I can _drown_ you, slimy pig!"

"Hell no, shrimp for brains!"

"Money grubbing moron!"

"No legs!"

"Skirt chaser!"

Everyone else, pirate and Marine, watched as the two continued to shout insults at each other. And they were all wondering the same thing: How were they traveling on the same ship?

Screaming in frustration at her latest insult, something about selling his manhood for a handful of coins, Alec lunged towards the Marines and brought his sword down on top of someone. But the shock they had been feeling had worn off. The Marine he attacked was ready for him and caught his sword with his own.

As metal his metal, a ringing noise echoed through the group. It might as well have been a trigger for a gun. The captain screamed, "Attack!" At the top of his lungs.

The men rallied at his call and gave shouts of their own as they went full force against the pirates. Rook and Bishop wasted no time in jumping into the fray.

Rook parried three attacks at once, pushing against them with his katana, the pinwheel at the end spinning joyfully with the movement. Rook grinned at the sight of it. "Come on, boys!" He taunted. "You can do better than that."

Bishop didn't bother with taunts or talking. He just aimed his pistols and fired. While his bullets flew, he had to be careful. One bad aimed shot could either hurt one of his friends or cause serious harm to his enemies. Just like Rook and Alec, Bishop adhered to Doc's rule of no killing. It was easier with swords, you could do surface damage or cut their hands. It took precise aim to make sure none of his bullets hit anything vital or caused irreparable harm. Because of that, he didn't go at it as fiercely as he and Rook had when it was just the two of them. They knew each other better than anyone else. Fighting together came naturally. But add in Doc, Alec, and Maya…well he would rather not take chances.

So while Rook and Alec blocked, parried, and cut their way through opponents, he only fired three or four shots in total. But despite their struggle, they quickly found that these Marines were of a higher caliber than the ones that had attacked them in the city. There were also a lot more of them, making it harder to maneuver.

Doc scurried around the edge of the battle. He was making his way towards the beach when one man, noticing his escape from the fight, charged towards him, a sword raised. He screamed furiously, "Die, pirate scum!"

Doc whirled on him, fear and surprise in his eyes. The blade seemed to fall in slow motion, getting ever closer to ending his life. There was no way he would be able to escape in time. He had all but given up when a jet of water knocked him to the side. Looking over, Doc found Maya swimming as close as she could to the beach without having to sit on the sand. The look she gave was half concerned half angry.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" She yelled at him. "When things get messy, you need to leave. You're nothing but a hindrance in a fight."

Doc flinched. Her words stung, but they were true. He would have taken that attack from earlier rather than fight back. He just could bring himself to harm another living person. "R-Right." He called back with a hint of embarrassment. "But they're kind of in the way of the ship so I don't really have any place to hide." It was almost humiliating admitting that he had to hide when the fighting started. But any other sort of argument would earn him dip in the ocean.

Maya just studied him for a moment before sniffing. "Then stay over here where I can keep an eye on you." She said indignantly. "We can hardly set sail if our captain gets killed." Doc knew that is was best to just nod in agreement and stay put.

Back in the fight, Alec and Bishop were back to back, Marine's all around them. Alec's cutlasses had blood on them, none of if Alec's. Bishop just stared at the crowd calmly, counting the number of bullets he had left compared to the number of enemies.

Yet despite the fact that they were on the same side, Alec was watching him uneasily. "Hey, you still haven't explained who you are or why you're helping us. Are you some new guy that wants to join the crew or something?"

Bishop had to hold back a chuckle. "Actually, I've been a member of this crew longer than you have." Alec opened his mouth to argue that point, having never seen him before, but he was silenced as Bishop shot a man who had ventured too close. He fell to the ground, clutching his leg. "It's a story best told on the ship and away from enemies." He explained as if he hadn't just shot a man. "For now, just know that my name is Bishop. And I'm your friend."

Alec was silent for a moment. He had a point, being surrounded by enemies wasn't the best place to hold a conversation. And if he had wanted to kill him, he would have done it by now.

"Fine." He said with a malicious grin. "But it had better be a good story. I expect you to tell me every last detail when we get out of this."

Bishop didn't stop his laughter this time. "Fair enough. You have yourself a deal." Then the two jumped back into the fight.

While they fought off the henchmen, Rook found himself face to face with the Marine Captain. In his hands, he held a broadsword. The craftsmanship was much better than that of the weapons the other Marines used. It was tempered in a way that made the edges of the blade were a dark bronze color. The hilt was made of an equally dark wood. As Rook looked it over, anger boiled under his skin. And the longer he looked, the stronger his anger grew until it turned into a fury. He had to be sure though. He charged the captain and brought his katana down in an arc. The pinwheel jingled as it swung to and fro but it no longer brought a smile to Rook's face. The captain brought his weapon up in a two-handed guard. When they clashed, Rook didn't bother looking at his face, he looked at the hilt. And, sure enough, there was a family emblem on it. A bull rearing and ready to charge. The captain managed to get his weight under him and pushed against him, causing Rook to back away and regain his balance.

The veins on Rook's forehead were fit to burst when Rook shouted, "Where did you get that sword!?" He demanded. Depending on his answer, he might get more violent than was strictly necessary.

The captain raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. But the look of confusion turned to smugness as he admired his own weapon as it gleamed in the sunlight. "Beautiful isn't it? Look at how the blade sings as it cuts." He waved it through the air to show him. "The metal is so hard that I could cut a boulder and it wouldn't even be nicked." He added in admiration. Then he let out a laugh. "And my hands fit perfectly on the handle. Why, this sword was practically made for me!"

As he laughed and became practically bloated on his own arrogance, he didn't notice Rook dashing in with his katana aimed directly at his stomach. But apparently he wasn't lowering his guard like that just to show off his new sword. As soon as Rook charged, he brought up his broadsword in both hands and swiped sideways to cut him in half.

But that was exactly what Rook had been waiting for. The position he was running in brought him low to the ground. It was a dead sprint, meant to cover as much ground as possible in the shortest amount of time. But a perk to running like that is that it kept his legs underneath him in a prime position to leap if needed. And that is exactly what Rook did. As soon as the captain swung, Rook jumped over the broadsword and used his momentum to cause him to spin in the air like a drill. He spun with enough power that his clothes flapped in the wind. And he used all of that power to spin and spin until his figure was blurred. He aimed himself directly at the Captain's heart and struck.

But instead of stabbing his enemy, Rook twisted his wrist so that his sword cut into the sand instead. "Torre Attack!" The sudden stop of movement gave Rook a lot of excess momentum, which he used to flip into the air. Keeping a strong grip on his katana, he pulled it out of the sand and brought it down directly on top of the Captain's hand.

With a scream, the Captain let go of his weapon and recoiled, clutching his hand to his chest as he tried to staunch the bleeding.

Rook calmly picked up the broadsword and held it in the air. He looked down on the Captain darkly. "You said this sword was made for you? You're wrong. You are the last person on Earth who should be wielding this sword. The perfect sized handle? You're hands are too small for it." Despite that the Captain had to use both hands, Rook brandished it with on. "A proper broadsword is a one-handed weapon. This entire time, you've been wielding it wrong. You were confusing it with a great-sword, a common mistake. But this…wasn't made for you." With a flick of his wrist, it was pressed against his throat. "This piece was made for a young noble who was having his coming-of-age ceremony. Even though he was younger, he was larger than you by a good amount. He was going to grow into a strong, large man. Yet somehow, you ended up with this young man's sword. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that he was also a Marine, probably a new recruit. I can only imagine that you used your status to bully or blackmail him into handing over the weapon that his family had paid so dearly for."

The Captain paled at his words. "H-How?" He finally asked, ignoring the blade against his throat. He gulped, his skin getting dangerously close to the edge. "How could you possibly know all that? How could you know that it wasn't mine?"

Rook smiled down at him menacingly. "Because." He said simply. "I'm the one who made it."

Before he could goad the man any further, something from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Amassing near the city and running right towards them was a large group of Marines. "Oh shit!" Looking at the man on the ground in front of him, he tossed him the broadsword back. "You will return this to its rightful owner." He said with authority in his voice. "I'll be checking in around here and if I found out that you still have that, I'll throw you in my forge, got it?" The man nodded his understanding multiple times before Rook ran off and towards where his brother and Alec were fighting. "Bishop! We got more incoming! Clear the way to the ship."

Alec looked very confused at what Rook was asking. But Bishop nodded in understanding. He looked around. There were still about a dozen Marines still standing, most clustered near their ship to prevent them from escaping. He could also see the oncoming group. He placed their number at around twenty or so extra soldier. That wouldn't be good. They had to leave. Now. Using the barrel of one of his pistols to parry a sword, he pushed them away and immediately went to his knees. Concentrating, he dug his fingers into the sand and took a deep breath. He had to spread his power out all around them, which wasn't going to be easy.

"Hide and Seek."

The ground all around them began to ripple and wave like a disturbed pond. All of the Marines looked around questioningly. Alec was confused as well, although Rook, Doc, and Maya weren't concerned.

Then the screaming started. One by one, men were sucked into the ground. There were no holes or openings that they fell into, they simply sank as if they were standing on water. Alec immediately jumped on top of Rook, standing on top of his head. But then he realized that they weren't sinking like the Marines had. "Huh? What's going on here?"

Rook, agitated that he had a man standing on his head, grabbed Alec's leg and threw him to the ground. "Get the hell off me!" He shouted. It wasn't until Alec, rubbing his back, stood up with a glare that he answered. "Just watch." He said with a hint of smugness. "Get a good look at Bishop's power."

The ground went still for a moment before writhing. Men started shooting into the air, propelled by some unknown force. It was like the ground had just eaten them and then spat them back out.

Alec looked around in fascination and horror. "What is this?" He asked.

Bishop stood up shakily from his kneeling position. He was breathing heavily and there was sweat dripping from his brow. "Moving that many people is…exhausting." Was all he said before dragging himself towards the ship.

Hearing the reinforcements coming, Alec and Rook didn't need any prompting to follow him, although at a much faster pace.

Doc soon followed them, carrying Maya bridal style. She didn't seem too happy about it, but they needed to hurry if they were going to escape in time.

When they got aboard their ship, Bishop went to the helm room and collapsed in the chair as he prepared their heading. Out on deck, Rook and Alec hurried to unfurl the sails as Doc pulled up the anchor.

"Set sail!" Doc called as they were finished. Beneath them, men had stopped popping out of the ground and they were reorganizing themselves as their comrades joined them. They started moving immediately as the wind caught them and moved them away from shore.

The Marines only called insults out at them, some calling for their own ships to give chase, but Doc and the others weren't concerned. By the time any ships arrived, they would be long gone.

* * *

 **There you go. I hope you liked it. And please let me know how I did in the fighting. I'm still trying to polish those kinds of scenes.**

 **Till next time!**


	6. The Past

**And we're back! Sorry about the wait on this one. Had family stuff last weekend that got in the way and the weekend before that was my monthly trip out of town.**

 **Anyway, I hope this will make up for the wait.**

 **On with the story!**

* * *

Night had fallen and still there were no signs of pursuit. Either they had outrun them or the Marines didn't even bother chasing after them. In all likelihood, it was the ladder. It was dangerous chasing someone out at sea in the Grand Line. Too many things could go wrong, especially with the lead they had gotten. They would never catch up with them. Although there was a chance a bounty might be put out.

They found a small islet and dropped anchor next to it. It was nothing more than a small mountain so they couldn't go ashore, but it did hide them from view. It was a good place to rest for the night.

The weather was still warm, but not blistering hot as it had been before. They had probably escaped somewhere in the vicinity of a spring island. There weren't any clouds in the sky so the stars and moon shined brightly down at them, as if congratulating them on their escape. Along with the pleasantly warm breeze, Doc decided it was the perfect night to eat dinner outside on the deck. So they set up the table outside along with their stools and set the whole ship alight with a brigade of lanterns. Besides, they could feel the tension from Alec rising by the minute. It would be better for them all if he didn't break anything in the kitchen when he finally exploded.

Speaking of which, they had just sat down to dig in on a meal of curry, meat, and fruit when the dam finally broke.

"Alright, I've had enough!" Alec shouted. He stood up from his stool and pointed at Bishop, who was sitting in between Rook and Doc as if he had always sat there. "I kept my mouth shut since we had to focus on getting away from the Marines, but who in the HELL is this guy!?"

Maya ignored him and bit into an apple while Rook and Doc averted their eyes in embarrassment. Since they didn't look like they were going to, Bishop took it upon himself to clear the air.

"My name is Bishop Chess. I'm Rook's younger brother and the navigator of this ship." He said simply, sipping a cup of tea. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, by the way."

Alec stared at him in silence for a moment. The mask hid the upper part of his face, but even so it was clear he was related to Rook. He could believe they were brothers. Their faces were shaped similarly and their hair, while Rook's was a lot messier than Bishops, were similar as well. Although they had their differences in appearance. Bishop looked to be an inch or two taller than Rook, but he was also much leaner. Rook was much more muscular than his brother. If he was forced to judge, he would say Bishop was the brain and Rook was the brawn. He certainly acted smarter than his brother. Even his voice sounded more serious compared to the laidback smith. Then he angrily turned his gaze on Rook and Doc. "Has he been a part of this crew the whole time? I've been here a month and this is the first I've even heard of him, let alone met him!"

Doc was the first one to speak. "Well…he's always stayed hidden after you came here. We thought he wanted to keep himself a secret."

Rook nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. He's always quiet, so I just assumed he had his reasons. I mean, he comes out of hiding when you aren't around so I thought he just didn't like you or something."

Bishop raised a questioning eyebrow at that. "What gave you that thought?" He asked. He turned to Alec so that this wouldn't become an understanding. "I have nothing against you. I'm just very shy at meeting new people."

Alec took a few deep breaths. They were treating this whole situation too light heartedly. One of his own crewmates had kept himself hidden from him for a whole month. For all he knew, Bishop was going to betray him. He knew nothing about this man. If they were going to fight side by side, he needed to know more about him. He had to be sure he wouldn't get stabbed in the back…or shot in the back as the case may be.

Trying to dispel his own anger, he sat back down and asked, "How were you able to stay hidden so well? I mean, even if you're shy, we should have at least bumped into each other by now." It was a pretty fair question. If Bishop tried to evade or lie, it would be proof that he was up to something.

Bishop didn't even hesitate in his answer. "I'm a devil fruit user." He answered seriously. He knew that he had to be truthful here. If Alec left the crew because Bishop offended him with a lie, it would be his fault. He didn't want that on his conscience. "Half a year ago, I ate the Hide-Hide Fruit and became a Hiding Man."

Alec's eyes widened at the answer. Devil fruit users weren't that rare on the Grand Line, especially in pirate crews, but still. Most of the powerhouses that ruled the sea could attribute their success to the power of their devil fruits. Most of the best pirate crews had at least one or two devil fruit users in their ranks. Despite all the headaches he'd had after joining such a peaceful ship, he was starting to think it was a good idea after all.

Then he furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait, Hide-Hide Fruit? It doesn't sound that powerful." Just his luck. They finally have a devil fruit user, but his power was useless.

As if hearing his thoughts, Bishop gave him a small, knowing smile. Pushing himself from the table, he stood up and, right before their eyes, started sinking into the deck. "True," he said as he sunk, "my fruit doesn't offer apparent advantages in battle." His head was completely submerged, but even so, his voice seemed to echo from the spot where he once stood. "But so long as an object is large enough for me to enter, I can hide inside anything. And so long as they are connected, like how these planks of wood are connected by nails and glue, I can exit anywhere I choose." He suddenly emerged directly behind Alec and put a gun to the back of his head. He was smiling in amusement as Alec went rigid at the presence of the pistol. "Wherever I go, whether it be a city, a forest, or even this ship, I will always be able to lay an ambush on my enemies." He stayed there for a moment, just to impress upon Alec the power he truly held. "I may not be as physically strong as you or Rook, but my mind is much sharper. With this power, I can lay plans that could make us unstoppable."

Very aware of the gun at his head, Alec gave a shaky chuckle. "I can't imagine what it was like when Maya figured out about you." He gave the mermaid an inquisitive look. "I'm guessing they weren't exactly kosher in the beginning."

Maya smiled darkly. "Oh, we had a nice long talk once I figured it out."

~~~~~flashback~~~~~

Rook was cowering as a cold, angry Maya had him pinned with his arm twisted in front of her.

"Please don't break my arm." The smith pleaded, sweat pouring from his face.

"No."

(Snap)

(Rook screams)

~~~~~end flashback~~~~~

Doc chuckled and wiped a fake tear from his eye. "That was a clean break too." He said good-naturedly. He pointed at Rook's right arm. "That arm is stronger now."

Maya popped a knuckle and smiled pleasantly at him. "I can do the other one if you want."

Rook yelped and shrank away from her, shaking his head back and forth.

It wasn't until Bishop took a step back, amused by the scene, that Alec could breathe again. Turning around, he ignored the barely contained laughter of Rook and the pitying smile of Doc's and eyed his new comrade's weapon. With an ironic grin, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a pistol very similar to the one Bishop now held. "I'm guessing this is yours."

Bishop bowed his head in thanks before taking the pistol back. "I hadn't meant for you to be the one to find it. When I run out of bullets, usually Rook is the one to pick up the discarded pistols."

"Pistols?" He eyed the two already at Bishop's belt. "How many of those do you have?"

"At any given time, around fifteen."

He almost asked where he kept them, but then he realized that was a stupid question. He was hiding them of course. Feeling more at ease, he started piling his plate with food. Bishop walked back to his spot and started doing the same. "So you were hiding in the deck when Froke's friend attacked. That's why those men were shot when they tried to attack me."

Oddly enough, it was Rook who answered. "You're half right."

"What?"

"I wasn't hiding in the deck." Bishop answered. "I was hiding in my brother's shadow."

Alec blinked in surprise. "What? How the hell can you hide in a shadow?"

"Just another aspect of my power." He replied. "It is very convenient. By hiding in his shadow, I go wherever he goes. I, quite literally, always have his back."

With a giant, approving grin, Rook raised a fist to his brother and Bishop bumped it with his own. They may have been drastically different, but they were still brothers.

Alec rolled his eyes at the two. "Wouldn't it make more sense to just hide inside him? Why follow behind in his shadow?" He asked questioningly.

Bishop shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Hiding inside people is…uncomfortable. I don't like doing it." He replied shortly.

"Okay." Alec said, nodding. "So you can hide in anything, huh?" He held up his fork. "Even this?"

Bishop shook his head. "No. It has to be big enough for my body to fit through." He pointed at his brother. "I'm a little taller than Rook, but he is wider than I am so I can comfortably go into his shadow." He turned to Doc. "But take Captain for example. He is taller than I am, but much skinnier." Which was true because Doc was practically a twig. A flagpole has more girth than he does. "If I were to enter his shadow, it would feel like I'm being crushed. There simply wouldn't be enough room for me."

After a few mouthfuls of rice, Alec started digesting all the news he just heard. But despite all that, he still didn't feel quite at ease. "You know, despite this heart to heart we've been having, I still don't really know much about you. You either Rook. I mean, it's easy to read up on Doc, hell his bounty is practically a page long. And frankly, I'm too scared to ask about Maya."

Said mermaid chuckled at that. "Damn right you are."

Alec ignored her. "So why don't you tell me a bit about yourselves." He asked. "I mean, if we are going to be working together on this ship, fighting together, we need a little trust."

Rook and Bishop glanced at each other. And without realizing it, Bishop lightly touched the mask covering his face. Even Maya raised an eyebrow at that. She had never seen under the mask, though Doc and Rook had. But from the stories she had heard, it wasn't pretty.

Bishop noticed the looks. "Later." He said, tapping the mask. "If you'll indulge my sense of drama, I believe Alec has asked for a story." He smiled at Rook. "Perhaps you would like to start out, brother." He noticed a cup of pudding to the side of Rook's plate and snatched it. He also slid his own pudding out of the smith's reach. "I won the bet." He said pleasantly.

Rook ground his teeth in frustration, but a bet was a bet. Bishop's score was higher, so he won the dessert. And while he enjoyed it, Rook decided to start things out.

"Well…we were born on Chessboard Island." He started. "Ironic, I know, since our last name is Chess." He didn't sound exactly happy to be telling this story. "The island was…checkered, just like a chessboard which is how it got its name." He was silent a moment. "It was a Marine island. People with high intelligence were sent there to start and raise families. They quite literally bred smart people. Some of the Marine's best and brightest were born and raised there."

Alec couldn't help but interject with a chuckle. "Then how was a dumbass like you living there?"

Rook slowly and deliberately lifted his knife and pointed it at the thief. "Either a story or a dip in the ocean. You pick."

"…Continue."

"Now, when we were growing up…well nobody had much faith in me. But Bishop here," he pointed at his brother who had finished Rook's pudding and was now eating his own, "he was a prodigy. When we were kids, he even beat the old fogies at chess. He was being raised to be the greatest tactician that ever lived. And me? Well I went under the wing of a traveling blacksmith. I was pretty good too." He added as an afterthought. "Now I was just doing what felt right to me, but apparently I was some sort of savant with a hammer. But one day, I did something that hasn't happened in many, many years. The 21 O Wazamono, the Great Grade Swords…according to the news, I created a rumored Twenty-second. Nightmare's Begin, I called it. It was styled like a katana and tempered in a way to give it a black tint. Maybe I was feeling nostalgic or something, but I gave it its name from some romantic notion that its wielder would become a nightmare for all evildoers in the world." He shook his head at his own naiveté.

Alec's fingers twitched. He knew those swords, anyone who wielded a blade knew of them. The greatest swords in history. If Rook had made one…if he still had it. It would be worth _millions_. If he could find it then maybe…

But that line of thought was cut short as Rook continued. He shook that idea out of his head and listened.

"You can imagine my sudden rise in popularity. Thousands of people every day flocking to my door, asking to buy my sword…couldn't do it though. I sword like that…" a whimsical look floated in his eyes, "needs to be given, not sold. Swords that great choose their wielders based on skill, not wealth. But then…"

"Captain Rorick Anderson." Bishop said softly. He was gazing at his empty spoon and gently ran his thumb over the handle. "Everything changed when he came."

Rook nodded, his face sullen. "It happened about four months ago. Just before we joined this crew. He barged into my forge and demanded I give him my sword. He said it was going to be a congratulatory gift for himself since he had just recently been promoted to Captain." He shook his head. "He was young. Couldn't have been a year older than I am. And he didn't have the right build to be an excellent swordsman. He was all muscle and power. A good swordsman needs skill and finesse as well as strength. So I turned him down flat. Told him that what the news said was a lie and I had never made the sword just to get him off my back."

"…He went berserk." Bishop continued. There was no emotion in his voice, like he was purposefully keeping it in check. "I was hiding in my brother's shadow when he started tearing the forge apart. He was going to rip the place apart until he found what he was looking for, ranting on and on about how if we were good people we should give him the sword so that he can make the world a safer place." He shook his head sadly. "Zealousness at its finest. He was so convinced that what he was doing was right that he ignored the destruction he himself was causing. My brother's work thrown to the floor, half-finished weapons trampled on like garbage."

He took a deep breath before slowly reaching up to his mask. "I jumped out of the shadow to try and subdue him, but he was much stronger than me. He pinned me down and grabbed a ladle filled with molten steel from a nearby mold and threatened to pour it on me if Rook didn't comply."

Alec gulped. "Did…did you give it to him?" He asked, eyeing the mask.

Rook was silent before nodding. "Yeah. I gave it to him. And you should have seen his face." He knuckled tightened until they were white. "He was filled with so much pride. Like he had finally fulfilled his life's goal. But then he took one look at me and that pride turned to pettiness. I can still remember the words he said, clear as day. 'This is what happens when you don't listen to your betters. Next time you'll do exactly as I say.'"

Bishop pulled the mask from his eyes, showing them all the horrendous scarring that ran from his temple to his left eye. It was terrible to look at, even Maya recoiled in horror. It looked like the skin had started melting, only to solidify a moment later. The eye itself looked blind, a layer of cataracts covering it. Everyone had a sudden loss of appetite.

"He poured the steel on my face." He said, gingerly touching the scarring that disfigured him. "I can honestly say I've never felt such excruciating pain. If Doc hadn't been visiting the island and if he hadn't heard me screaming…well I'm not sure if I'd still be alive today. I could have died from the pain alone."

"You almost did." Doc said darkly. He was staring into his glass, swishing it around contemplatively. "Never mind the pain, the steel almost melted through your skull and into your brain. I'm good but I'm not a miracle maker. So let's just say you were touch and go for a while there."

Bishop tried smiling to reassure him as he set his mask back over the scar. He didn't want any of them losing their dinner from looking at it. "But thanks to you, I managed to keep my eye. I can still see out of it but…well while I use a pistol, I will never be able to become a sniper. When things get too close or too far away, they become blurry. And this isn't something a pair of glasses can fix."

Now even Maya was interested in the story. When she and Doc had visited Chessboard Island, he had stayed there for weeks. When she asked him about it, he said that he was helping a critical patient. When Rook came aboard, he had said he joined because he owed Doc his life. At the time, she assumed it was his life he had saved. It wasn't until after she had met Bishop a week later that she learned otherwise. But even then she respected their privacy and didn't dig into the incident.

Rook gave a small, "Heh." He poked at his food, no longer interested in eating. "While Doc was taking care of Bishop, I ran the bastard down." He held up his hand and showed them the scar that ran along his palm. "Using a blade I hadn't set into a handle, I chased after him and ran it through his back just as he was about to board his ship. I was so angry that I hadn't even noticed that I was cutting myself as well as him. He's lucky too. If the blade hadn't gotten stuck in my bone, I would have sawed his ass in half. But as it is, he won't ever be able to wield a sword like he used to. Pretty sure I chipped his spine at some point." He shook his head, not certain but hoping that he had inflicted as much pain as possible. "The elders of our village weren't stupid. They understood the situation and immediately cordoned off our island and expelled the Marines. They were able to buy us time while Doc operated and brought Bishop back health. After the Marines got permission to get back on the island, we had already escaped on this ship."

"When I recovered, Rook and I pledged ourselves to the Captain and joined this crew, becoming the Good Heart Pirates." Bishop said solemnly. "The government we believed in betrayed us. Tried to kill us. From that day forward, our lives belonged to Doc." He smiled gently at his captain, the fire of conviction in his eyes. "We will sully our hands so that his Good Heart will never be stained and always bring light to those who need it."

* * *

 **There you go! I hope I explained Bishop's power well enough. If you still can't understand it, send me a message and I will try to explain it further.**

 **Until next time!**


	7. An Unexpected Guest

**See, back in my previous story I fell into this bad habit of only updating once every two weeks. I chalk that up to losing motivation with the story. Anyone who read it can agree with me when I say that the last story arc took WAY too long for me to finish. Well I don't intend for that to happen with this story. A learning experience and all that. So aside from the one weekend where I take a break, anyone who feels I am slacking in my weekly update can go ahead and slap me back into gear.**

 **Also, I want to know whether you all want me to use the Japanese or English name of the Den Den Mushi/Transponder Snail. Let me know and I'll change things accordingly.**

 **Now then, on with the story!**

* * *

[Rizzelia Island ~ Three days after escaping the Marines]

A man was running downhill through a jungle. His spikey red hair was matted with blood from an open wound at the top of his head. The color of his blood was only slightly darker than his hair. He looked like he had been spending his days in a cave from his attire. His white shirt had seen better days and his shaggy brown pants were being held up with a strip of worn rope. The scruff on his chin was evidence that he hadn't been shaving. His tan skin was dirty and his arms had scars from bullets and blades running across them. His hands in particular were covered in scar tissue.

He was breathing heavily, running as fast as he could. He tripped and staggered but he never let himself fall. He had to wipe some blood from his eyes, but while he was doing so a shot rang through the air. With a pained grunt, he choked back his scream as a bullet lodged itself in his shoulder. Knowing that stopping even for a moment would spell his doom, he kept on running. But then a second bullet hit his leg, making him fall and tumble down the rest of the hill.

He stopped as the ground leveled out. He had rolled out of the jungle and into the open air. "Damn…sniper." He groaned. His voice was a bit rough. "Need…to get out of here." He tried standing up, but the moment he put pressure on his wounded leg his vision almost went black. Suppressing another scream, he fell onto his stomach and took in his surroundings. He was on a cliff. Where the tree line ended, stone began. "Just my luck. Of all the places to fall, it _would_ be on a fucking cliff." He cursed.

He could hear men shouting from the trees. Since the jungle was dense, he was afforded some amount of cover. But it wouldn't take them long to follow the path he had made during his little tumble.

"I'm…not gonna die here." He muttered to himself. With the determination of a dying man, he began pulling himself towards the edge of the cliff. He could tell from the sounds of the waves that he was pretty high up. Falling from this height would probably kill him. But as the shouting grew louder, he decided that probable death is better than certain death. And if his pursuers caught him, that was what they were going to give him.

He had just managed to crawl his way to the edge when the hunters emerged from the trees. Looks of disbelief were on their faces when the man glanced at them with a mocking grin.

"Sayonara bitches!"

With that, he flung himself over the edge.

* * *

Doc, Maya, and Rook were casually walking down a street. Bishop was resting inside Rook's shadow as he usually did when they went into town. Alec had pulled the short straw so he was stuck watching the ship. Normally, Maya didn't like going into town. As a mermaid, she stuck out like a sore thumb especially with the bubble ring around her waist that let her float in the air. But they were running low on food supplies so she didn't have much of a choice. Speaking of which, both of the men with here were toting large bundles and sacks filled with ingredients and food. Rook, who had a much larger load, was grumbling about how Bishop didn't seem to need to carry anything. But if the Hiding Man heard him, he didn't answer.

There were a lot of onlookers and gawkers around them. Despite the fact that they were in the commerce area of town, there was almost no movement as people stared and pointed at Maya. Even the shop keeps and stall owners were ignoring their business to look at her. It was obvious that none of these people had ever seen a mermaid before. It was awkward, but it was a good deal better than being chased or having rocks thrown at them. The closer they sailed to the New World, the more evident the racism towards Merpeople. On those islands, Maya would have stayed on the ship regardless of food shortages. But here, it was more like people were curious so she dealt with it.

She approached a vendor welling vegetables and studied a cabbage. "It's crisp and fresh." She complimented as she felt the leaves. She didn't see any signs that bugs had been eating it either. "How much?" She asked authoritatively. She may have felt awkward around this many people, but she wasn't going to let anyone rip her off by overpricing.

Shocked out of his amazement, the merchant stammered, "Oh! Uh, 50 a head."

"Too much." Maya said forcefully. " 20."

The merchant, realizing his customer was going to haggle, seemed to come to his senses. He put on the usual air of a seller and raised an eyebrow. "This is quality product. 40 would be a better offer."

"Make it 30 or I'll find someplace else."

The merchant let out a deep throaty laugh. "I do like a woman who knows what she wants. 30 it is."

With a victorious smile, Maya handed him a handful of coins before adding three cabbages to Doc's burden. Noticing that the merchant was also selling turnips, she was about to ask about those before a small sound got their attention.

From Doc's pocket came a "Purupurupurupuru". Both Maya and Rook looked at him quizzically as he rearranged his baggage so that he could reach into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a baby Den Den Mushi. It was yellow with a red shell. It had a small gold necklace around its neck and slicked back black hair on its head, marking Alec as the caller. With a "Katcha", Doc answered the call.

Before he could say a word, the snail immediately started shouted with an angry face, "Hey! Get your asses back here. Someone is attacking the ship!"

"Slow down, what do you mean someone is attacking?" Doc asked, urgency in his voice.

"I mean what I said! Someone fired a cannonball or something at us and it broke through the deck. I'm checking it out now so hurry back!"

All thoughts of produce and turnips left their minds as the three ran out of town at a dead sprint. The ship was anchored near a sandbank just outside of the jungle that surrounded the town. It was out of the way and a fair bit out so they weren't worried that anyone would find it.

But something seemed wrong. When they got on the trail that lead to the ship, they noticed that there were any signs of fighting. They could hear anything. No cannons, swords, guns, nothing. Not even any men shouting. When they finally reached the ship, they couldn't see Alec anywhere. They boarded, worried that he might have been captured when they saw the hole in the deck.

"The hell? A cannonball isn't this big." Rook mentioned, walking up to it. When he looked down, he staggered back and his eyes widened. "What the hell?"

Down in the hole, Alec looked up at them as Maya and Doc joined Rook. What shocked them wasn't the fact that Alec was in the hole. It was that Alec was crouching next to the unconscious form of a man. He had spikey red hair that was covered in blood. He wore a ragged white shirt and brown pants that were held up with a piece of rope that acted as a belt.

"Oh. Hey guys." Alec said nonchalantly. He had his swords drawn, but he didn't look like he had been fighting. "So…before you say anything, I found him like this."

Confused, Rook looked up to see a cliff that was overhanging above the ship. "Did…Did he fall all the way from there? Is he even alive?"

Alec answered that. "Yeah, he's breathing." He called. "Not sure for how long though."

Rook and Alec looked towards Doc, but the doctor was already running towards the door that would lead him below deck. The bags he had been carrying were lying on the floor where he had been standing.

Before they knew it, Doc had joined Alec and was examining the man, worry etched on his face. While checking his pulse, he eyed the various wounds. It wasn't good. The man was alive but he needed help immediately. "Maya!" He shouted. "Go prep for surgery. If we don't help, he's going to die."

While Maya was primarily on the ship as their cook, she also acted as Doc's nurse when he performed surgery. She had basic knowledge of medicine and she was a good deal steadier than Rook or Alec for such things. Bishop would have been helpful as well if it wasn't for his eyesight.

"The bleeding from his head has already stopped." Doc noted, more to himself than to anyone else. Carefully sifting through his hair, he found a long, but shallow, scratch on his head. "Good. It has already started scabbing. We'll clean it to prevent infection but it'll be fine. Then he examined the other wounds. "He's been shot. Twice. One went straight through his leg. But I don't see an exit wound for the one in his shoulder. We'll need to remove it." He grimaced. "He's got a lot of scratches and cuts from falling through the deck. We'll have to check for splinters. He gently felt around his chest. "I think I feel a few broken ribs too. Probably from the fall."

At that point, Maya came floating towards them with a stretcher in her arms. She set it on the ground and stood back. Doc nodded to her and firmly grabbed his shoulders. "Okay Alec, grab his feet and on three we'll move him to the stretcher." When Alec moved, grimacing at the thought of blood getting on his clothes, Doc started the count. "One, two, thr-!" He stopped immediately when he saw something he missed. His body had hidden it from the way he was lying, but he could see it from this angle at his shoulders. Embedded in his side was a wooden plank. Doc's face paled at the sight of it. "Maya, we're going to need you to lend a hand." He said. "When we move him, I need you to hold onto that plank." He said. "I'm not sure how deep it is, but if it falls out he'll bleed out before we can get him to the surgery table. Make sure it stays in."

Maya didn't shy away from the gruesome task. She set her face in determination and nodded. Then Doc looked at Alec and took a deep breath. "On three…three!" With a grunt, the two lifted the man onto the stretcher. When they did, Maya noticed the board starting to slip. She grabbed it with both hands and firmly pushed it back into place.

The pain of having a piece of wood shoved into his wound must have roused the man from unconsciousness. With a scream of pain, he jolted awake and started flailing around, trying to fight whatever was causing him pain.

"Easy, easy!" Doc shouted. He and Alec draped themselves over his arms and legs to prevent him from struggling further and worsening his condition. "You're hurt." He said in a soothing voice, trying to coax the man into relaxing. "I know it hurts but bear with it for now." Grabbing a piece of broken wood, he shoved it into the man's mouth, causing him to bite down on it in reflex. It wouldn't be good if he accidentally bit his tongue off. Even Doc would be hard-pressed saving him then.

He started calming down, his energy leaving him just as quickly as it came. When they were certain that he had passed out again, the Doc and Alec moved off him and grabbed the poles of the stretcher. Lifting him up, they ran to the end of the hall. Maya ran next to him, her hands never leaving the plank.

They reached the front room and went to the first door, the one that smelled of medicine and herbs. Maya had left the door open for them so they immediately went inside. The room was in severe contrast with the rest of the ship. This room didn't belong there. It would have seemed more normal in a hospital. The front seemed normal. It was lined with shelves covered in medicines and bandages. There was a desk, a chair, and a bed for when someone needed to spend the night there. Doc was also known to sleep here when someone in the men's sleeping quarters was snoring too loudly. Next to the bed was a large bookshelf that contained nothing but medical books. They ran passed that part and went through a pair of open curtains in the back. There was an operation table in the middle of this room. All around them were medical tools and equipment. In one corner was a rack of scrubs and a washing station, including a shower and sink. Above the table was a lamp so that they could see what they were working on. At the very back was a door that lead the storage room that contained all their stored medicine. Rook was in this room waiting for them. When Doc and Alec pulled up next to the table Maya let go of the plank long enough for her and Rook to carry the man from the stretcher to the table.

"Okay." Doc said seriously. He went to the washing station and immediately started sanitizing himself. "Rook, you and Alec wash up and stay here. We're going to need your help removing that plank." He raised an eyebrow at the smith. "And Bishop?"

Rook started washing his hands next to Alec and gestured to the door with his head. "He's already outside keeping an eye on things."

That took some weight off his shoulders. From the bullet wounds, there was a high chance that this man didn't just fall from that cliff. He was being chased. If his pursuers were still after him, he didn't want them catching them unaware during an operation.

"Good." He replaced his hat for scrubs and pulled sterile gloves on. "Now let's start the operation."

* * *

 **Hope you all liked it. Who is this man and who was chasing him? Find out in the next chapter!**

 **See you then!**


	8. The Sniper

**And we're back! I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween (for those that celebrate it). I made a pretty good Professor Oak at the costume party I went to, if I do say so myself.**

 **And as a note, I am in no way a doctor. The methods Doc uses are techniques I look up online with a healthy dose of fantasy mixed in. Let's face it, medicine in the One Piece world doesn't work the same way here. Their bodies seem more able to take lethal damage than ours are. So please, for both personal and legal reasons, do not follow anything Doc does as strict fact. Half of it may have real medical background, but I'm winging the other half.**

 **Also, this month is very hectic for me. I don't have a single weekend off to concentrate on writing (school, family obligations, etc.). That being said, I don't intend on just abandoning this story. So here's what's going to happen. My update day won't be on Sunday for the timespan of this month. Instead, I'll be updating anywhere between Tuesday and Thursday.**

 **Now then, on with the story!**

* * *

As Doc and the others were preparing for surgery, Bishop was in the Crow's Nest scanning the horizon with a spyglass over his good eye. As far as he could see, there wasn't anyone coming after them. Not even from the jungle or town. That was odd. If that man had been chased or pursued, they would have surely come here to make sure he was dead. That's what he would have done. It was sloppy not to follow through.

Yet everything was peaceful. The waves rocked gently and the air was alive with the sounds of jungle animals. Maybe he had just accidentally fallen. He shook his head. No, he had been chased. He was willing to bet his good eye on it. He saw the injuries he had sustained. Those bullet holes were fresh. Could they have been bandits? No. If anyone was a bandit, it was probably the man on the operating table. He looked broke. There couldn't be anything he had that anyone wanted. Perhaps he was a wanted criminal? That made more sense in his mind. If there were a bounty on his head, it would make sense why he looked like he hadn't been in touch with civilization for a while. He had been hiding out in the jungle. So that left him with two roads of thought. Marines or bounty hunters.

Well the fact that nobody had shown up to verify if he was really dead solved that problem. Marines were thorough. Bounty hunters were more likely to make mistakes like this. But even so, even amateurs would know that they would at least need to bring the body back to get the bounty. So why weren't they here?

The answer came to him when he heard a flapping sound. Looking up, he looked at their flag. The Jolly Roger with a heart and syringes. He whimsically wondered what his life would be like now if Doc wasn't a pirate, but a traveling doctor. If it wasn't for his bounty, they might not have even met. Which meant that he would probably be dead. With a silent smile, he resigned himself to the irony that he was grateful that Doc was a pirate.

Then his eyes widened. Pirate. That was it. Even from the cliff, those bounty hunters would have recognized that this ship was flying pirate colors. And even newbies would know that you can't just raid a pirate ship. You have to prepare. They hadn't left because they thought their mark was dead. They left to get reinforcements!

* * *

Doc, Maya, Rook, and Alec were all suited up. They had gloves and scrubs on. They had hair nets on as well as masks over their mouths. The mystery man was on the table, breathing heavily as an IV fed him blood. Luckily Doc kept a healthy amount of spare blood in a refrigerated container. He had all of the crew donate when they started running low. Doc himself had a particularly rare blood type, O negative. That was the blood he was currently transfusing into their patient. O negative is a blood type that can donate to any other type. And since they didn't know the man's type, this was the safest thing to do. In his current state, he would die if he had an incompatibility reaction from receiving the wrong blood.

Maya still had her hands on the plank while Rook and Alec were holding him down. It was going to hurt like a bitch when they pulled that out. They didn't want him squirming or hurting anyone, including himself, when he woke up from the pain. But for now, Doc was busy rinsing the wound. Using an antiseptic, he washed the opening around the plank. Splinters of wood flowed out with the water and into a bucket that was positioned underneath.

Once he was sufficiently happy with the cleanliness of the wound, he pulled out a needle and thread. There was a trickle of sweat beading his brow. But his hands were as steady as always. Looking at Maya, Rook, and Alec, he nodded firmly. This was going to be the tricky part. Now that it was clean, they had to remove the plank. And Doc had maybe a minute, two tops, to stitch him closed before he bled out.

"Now!" With a grunt, Maya pulled the plank out, doing her best to keep from making things even worse. And with the removal of the wood came the blood, like a broken dam releasing water. Good thing the bucket was still underneath him to catch the majority of it. The man jerked awake, screaming at the top of his lungs. He tried to sit up and flail around, just trying to hit whatever was causing the pain, but Rook and Alec kept him pinned. They had to grit their teeth though. Despite his haggardly look, this man was built like a fighter. Every inch of him was muscle and he was using all of it to fight them. He squirmed a little, but they kept him still enough for Doc to work. His hands moved like lightning, years and years of practice making him faster than the average doctor. His fingers moved deftly as he closed the opening with sutures, never stopping or making a mistake. Perhaps it was the pirate in him, but he couldn't resist saying, "Doctor Stitch!" In no more than a blink of an eye, Doc had the entire wound closed and on the way to recovery. They would need to keep an eye on it though. Something like that was prone to infection. Even with the cleaning, they couldn't be sure an infection wouldn't set in.

His energy spent up, the man slumped back into unconsciousness, though his features were slightly more peaceful now that he didn't have a giant board sticking out of his side. With sighs of relief, all four of them relaxed a little. Maya tossed the board to the side. Rook would take it later and feed it to his furnace. They couldn't just toss something with that much blood on it into the ocean. If he had some sort of disease there was a chance, no matter how small, that someone could get infected. So most medical waste went straight to Rook for burning.

Doc tugged his mask down so he could take a deep breath unhindered. "Okay. That takes the biggest problem out of the way. But now we need to reset his ribs." Maya came over with a towel and wiped his head to keep the sweat out of his eyes. No matter how good of a doctor he was, it took a lot of concentration to pull off this kind of operation. "Hopefully he hasn't punctured a lung with all that struggling."

He motioned for Rook and Alec to retake their positions to hold the man down, but then Bishop emerged from the ceiling. He looked down on them upside down like a bat, only his head protruding from his hiding place. "We have a problem." He said seriously. "Enemy ship incoming."

"Shit!" Alec shouted in frustration both at the fact that enemies were coming and at Bishop's sudden appearance. He still hadn't gotten used to it.

Doc frowned. "An enemy? Are they pirates?"

Bishop shook his head. "Bounty hunters. Probably after him." He tilted his head towards the man on the table. "They're amateurish to let him escape but smart enough to know not to lay siege to a pirate ship alone." He looked directly at Doc when he said, "Unless you are willing to give up your patient, I don't see a peaceful way out of this. Especially once they find out who you are. Whatever he is worth, he's probably nothing compared to you, Captain."

All eyes went to Doc, who almost put his hand to his chin until he remembered that it was covered in blood. He was silent, almost eerily so for a minute. Then he told them, with all the authority a captain could muster, "We are not giving up our patient. I do not care what he has done, whether he is a murderer, a thief, or a pirate. I don't care how much money is on his head. I don't care who wants him dead. Until this man is completely healed, I will not permit harm to come to him, both as a doctor and as a man." He looked at his crew as Bishop fell gracefully from the ceiling to stand between Maya, Rook, and Alec. "Maya, you stay here with me. We still have work to do." Then he turned to the others, his eyes as cold as his words. "I can't fight, but _you_ can. You still can't kill anyone, but you have my permission. Go wild!"

Alec and Rook shed their scrubs, gloves, and headwear as they and Bishop turned to the door. "Yes, Captain!"

* * *

The bounty hunters didn't seem that organized. They clearly hadn't been doing this very long. They had the standard array of weapons, swords and axes. They didn't seem to have a sharpshooter with them…odd.

Four of them boarded the ship via gangplanks. They looked around in confusion at the empty ship. One of them scooted slowly to the hole in the deck and looked down it. His face scrunched up in anger. Their mark wasn't there. He looked at his fellows and shook his head. At his cue, all four of them started walking towards the door that lead below deck.

"Hide and Seek!"

Before the hunters could take more than a few steps, Alec, Bishop, and Rook erupted out of hiding spots in the deck with their weapons raised. Alec had a malicious grin on his face. "Shit, this is useful!" He praised. Using Bishop's power really made surprise attacks easier. Rook could only grin in agreement while Bishop gave a small smile. But the serious of the situation wiped that smile off his face. Even though they weren't that experienced, they needed to be careful. If they goofed off, they could get hurt. And with Doc currently preoccupied with surgery, they wouldn't get the immediate help that they were used to.

However, before they could attack their enemies, a shot rang out and a bullet lodged into the floor between the two groups. Rook looked towards the bounty hunters' ship, where the bullet came from. And from the crow's nest he saw a woman with curly red hair that fell over her eyes and glasses that were so low that they were on the tip of her nose. He had no idea why she even wore them since her hair covered her eyes so completely that he couldn't see them. She was toting a rifle and even from this distance something felt…off about her. As pirates, they had run into many rough situations and strong enemies. But this was one of the few times where they could feel an overhanging sense of dread in the air. Her teammates may be new, but she was a professional. This woman was dangerous.

He didn't have more time to study her before he saw her taking aim. "Sniper!" The smith shouted. Bishop and Alec immediately ran for cover, Alec diving behind the mast while Bishop sank into his hiding spot. All of that the only reason the woman had missed was because she had been surprised by them emerging from the floorboards. They hadn't suspected a devil fruit user.

A second shot followed the first, this one aimed directly at Rook's head. Luckily he was prepared. Knowing that he was the most likely choice, he raised his sword and deflected the bullet off the blade. But it was close. He knew he couldn't pull off to many more deflections like that. And judging from the confident looks on the other's faces, they weren't going to just let him sit there.

Although, one of them didn't look as sure as the others. "Oi, nobody said nothing about no devil fruit user." He said worriedly.

The one next to him slapped him on the back in a good-naturedly manner. "Don't sweat it! With Fara watching us, there's no way we can lose. She's South Blue's best sniper. So long as we have her, we're unstoppable!"

Fara. So now they had a name to go with that mystery woman. She was clearly leagues better than this rag-tag bunch. So why was she with them? That question went unanswered as she shot Rook a second time, only for him to deflect it again.

Angry at this whole situation, Alec stepped out from behind the mast to go to his friend's rescue, but the moment he did, another bullet embedded itself in the floor in front of his feet. It was almost like she wasn't even trying to hit them. The vein on his head began to bulge as his temper rose. "This bitch is toying with us!" He looked around for his other comrade. "Bishop! Can't you do something about that sniper?"

To answer his question, Bishop emerged from a section of the mast above Alec's head. Since both of them couldn't hide behind it together, he only stuck out the upper half of his body. "Everything is too blurry." He replied. "She's too far away."

"Well can't you get to her using her hiding spots?"

He shook his head. "Those gangplanks aren't a part of the ship. They are just objects so I can't travel through them. And we'd both be shot dead if we tried running across them."

While they were talking, they noticed that Rook was now not only repelling bullets, but the swords of two of the men as well. The third one, the boisterous one was acting so confident earlier, was shouting, "Hey you two!" This was most likely directed at them. "Even though you're pirates, we have no idea who you are so that must mean you don't have bounties on your heads." Bishop and Alec stared at each other blank-faced. Thank god these guys were idiots! "All we're here for is the man who crashed into your ship. Unlike you, he's a notorious criminal with a 70,000 beri bounty on his head!" Again, the two could only stare at each other. Alec's eye twitched slightly while Bishop had to blink slowly. That…wasn't that high of a bounty at all. If they thought 70,000 made you notorious, then these guys must really suck at their job. "Just hand him over and no one needs to get hurt." The arrogance in his voice increased with every word. Then he looked at Rook, who was busy handling three opponents. "If you go get him now," his face twisted in an ecstasy of superiority, "we won't have to kill your friend here." He started laughing loudly at his assured victory.

Alec was about to shout something back when he noticed that Bishop had vanished. Cautiously peering around the mast, he looked to see the man suddenly stop laughing as his eyes widened in surprise. Looking down, he noticed a bleeding hole in his stomach. Behind him, a livid Bishop was rising out of the floorboards, gun raised with smoke emanating from the barrel. He stared at his downed opponent in pure fury.

"Don't ever," he seethed, "threaten my brother. So stop talking and go to sleep." Fully exposed as he was, he turned in the direction of the sniper. He couldn't see her clearly but he still knew her general location. He raised his arms and dozens of pistols flew out of them and into the air around him. "Tag You're It!" Before they even began losing momentum and falling to the ground, he grabbed two pistols and fired them before the sniper Fara could react. She ducked into the crow's nest to avoid his gunfire, but he wasn't close to hitting her. After shooting, he tossed the guns to the side. The pistols were much smaller than normal, which was why he was able to hide them in his arms despite not having much muscle. They only contained one shot each so once he was done, he quickly dropped one and grabbed another. He may not have been able to see her, but he could make out the crow's nest. He doubted he would be able to hit her, but he could at least give them cover fire by not giving her a chance to shoot back.

Taking that moment of freedom, while Bishop barraged Fara with a rain of bullets, Alec sprang into action. Jumping into the air, he brought his cutlasses down in an arc on one of Rook's opponents, the one that had been hesitant to fight them. "Jewelry Driver!"

Looking up, the man screamed in fear and put up his arms to protect himself. Luckily for him, Alec still remembered his promise with Doc. Knowing that the captain was already going to be upset with Bishop, he flipped his weapons around so that he struck the man with the blunt ends. It knocked him out, but it didn't injure him.

Rook was sweating from the exertion of having to deal with two swordsman and a sniper. Needless to say, he was a little irritated. Glaring at his remaining opponent, he locked swords with him and said, "Seems like the tables have turned. Now why don't you get your asses out of here before things get any messier?"

Gulping nervously, the man looked at his two downed comrades and at Fara who was being kept busy by Bishop. He was about to take a step back when they all heard the sound of a cannons being fired. There was a pause of silence that was broken by Bishop's pistols hitting the ground as he too stopped firing to listen. Then two cannon balls crashed into the ocean next to their ships.

Looking out on the horizon, Alec cursed and shouted, "Marines incoming!"

* * *

 **There you go! Please let me know what you all thought. I know that the fights aren't that exciting yet, but we can't have epic battle scenes so early in the series.**

 **Send me a review and tell me what you think. (Bows)**

 **Till next time!**


	9. Captain Captain Bear

**This week and last have been hectic. To the point where my brain feels like it is going to melt. But I can't let myself slow down. There's still a lot I have to get done this month. Hopefully it gets more peaceful by this time next week. Otherwise I might end up in a mental hospital.**

* * *

The cannonballs crashed against the waves, sending spray into the air. All stood stock still while they looked at the Marine ship that was sailing in their direction. They all knew exactly what had just happened. They were given warning shots.

When Alec shouted, Bishop stopped his assault on the sniper, his mouth curled into a snarl. This was not something they needed right now. If the Marine's showed up, they would take the side of the bounty hunters and attempt to capture them. They couldn't have that. Not only would their patient lose the medical treatment he was receiving, but none of them wanted to go to jail. They, the crew, might get off easily but Doc had quite the substantial bounty on his head. He was headed for Impel Down.

The bounty hunters knew that the odds had turned in their favor…well at least the one that was still conscious. While he had been quivering just a moment before, false bravado now leaked onto his face. "Give up now, pirates!" He shouted. Honestly, there was no reason to be so loud. They were literally right next to him. "When that Marine ship gets here, you'll be outmatched. So why don't you let us capture you?" His arm was still shaking slightly as he pointed at Rook. "The Marines won't let us collect the bounty when they get here. Do one last good thing in this world and put down your weapons. That way we can at least get paid."

During his little speech, Bishop noticed something odd. While they were distracted, the sniper could have easily taken all of them out. So why didn't she? He backed up so he was near Rook. "Where is the sniper looking?" He whispered to his brother. He couldn't see her clearly so he had to rely on Rook to give him the information he needed.

Rook didn't even question him. He immediately looked towards Fara and squinted at her. "She staring at the Marines." He said, just as quietly. He tilted his head to the side as he rested his katana on his shoulder. "Looks kind of worried, actually."

Now that confused Bishop. She should have been elated at the aid the Marines represented. So why was she worried? In the interim of that quick conversation, Alec has nonchalantly struck the remaining bounty hunter's head with the pommel of his cutlass, knocking him unconscious. "So what are we going to do? I don't think we can beat a whole Marine ship."

Bishop stared in the direction of the ship and wondered how they had known they were here. This part of the island was pretty secluded and hidden away from sight. You wouldn't see it from the port in town. "Better question." Bishop replied. "Why aren't they firing anymore? They have to know that we might try to escape."

"Why _aren't_ we trying to escape?" Alec couldn't help but ask. "I mean, isn't that what a pirate usually does when cornered by a Marine?"

Bishop shook his head. Putting a hand in the air, he felt the breeze. It was going in the direction of the island. "The winds aren't in our favor. We'd have to paddle away, but there's no way we could out paddle them." He started picking up his guns and hiding them in his arms again, the fabric of his clothing rippling as he inserted them back into their hiding places. "Get ready. We're going to have to fight our way through."

As if to answer their decision, two more cannonballs were launched…but at the bounty hunters' ship. One crashed into the ocean, but the other ripped open their starboard. Then, on a microphone, a posh voice called out, "Attention bounty hunters. These pirates are officially under Marine custody. Be so kind as to vacate the area, if you please."

They all blinked. This was…surprising. Normally the Marines would help the bounty hunters to arrest them. They never chased them off.

The posh speaker started talking again. "Ah. My apologies. It seems you ruffians have already dealt with your currently unconscious adversaries. Then might I ask that the young lady put down her rifle and collect her colleagues? I hate to be an inconvenience, but it appears that one of them requires medical attention, if that bullet wound has anything to say."

Bishop, Rook, and Alec all had the same thought at the same time. Doc had likely heard the commotion. If he came on deck and saw that they had injured these guys (particularly the one Bishop shot), he was going to be steamed. Even if they were going to get arrested, they quickly picked up the unconscious bodies and tossed them back onto their ship.

Fara the sniper stared down at them, mistrust in her eyes. She looked like she was contemplating whether or not it would be worth it to take on the Marines in order to get her bounty. But such thoughts were quickly smothered. Lowering her rifle, she descended from the crow's nest and went to the helm. In a manner of moments, the ship was sailing away from them. Fara turned to watch them as she left. They were going to pay for this. She was going to make sure of it.

At this point, Doc came from below deck, attracted by all the noise and commotion. He immediately saw the Marine ship that was laying anchor next to them. Then he noticed the pool of blood left by Bishop's victim. "W-What is going on!?" He asked. "Who's hurt? And where did the Marine's come from?" As he shouted questions, he started looking his crew over. None of them looked injured. Rook had a couple of scratches, but certainly nothing deep enough to lose that much blood.

In an attempt to cover for his brother, Rook stuttered, "Uh, we'll talk about that later. For now I think we have a bigger problem." Turning serious, he readied his swords as the Marines pulled up next to them and started preparing gangplanks. Bishop and Alec did the same. They were sure they wouldn't be able to defeat such a large number of enemies, but they were going to try.

Doc stared in apprehension as gangplanks were put down and Marines started swarming their ship. They quickly went about surrounding the pirates. Luckily they weren't headed downstairs. He didn't want them finding their patient.

The Marines all aimed their rifles at them as a taller, lanky figure walked slowly down the plank. He was much skinnier than the others. His medium length hair was tied back in a tail that swayed in the sea breeze. His arms were crossed against his back. He didn't give off the air of a Marine. He looked more like a butler. He had a monocle over his left eye and he wore pristine black dress pants with a matching jacket that had sliver buttons and a sea blue shirt underneath. Hanging from the pocket of his jacket was a chain loop that was likely connected to a pocket watch. His black shoes were polished and clean.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen." The man said smoothly. It was the same man who had been speaking over the speakers. "If you would be so kind as to lay down your weapons, my men will escort you to our ship."

Doc could feel his crew bristle at the thought of surrender. So before they could say anything that could make matters worse, he stepped forward with his hands raised. "There's an injured man below who just came out of surgery. Moving him could be dangerous." He didn't want to surrender, but running into an all-out fight wasn't smart. They were severely outnumbered and outgunned. Not to mention that any sort of battle could lead to his patient getting even more injured. That had to be avoided at all cost. Looking behind him, he saw Alec and Rook steaming. Alec's swords were shaking as he fought the urge to charge. Rook wasn't doing much better. Only Bishop was keeping his cool. When he caught Doc's eye, he nodded to him. This was the wise thing to do. If they gave in now, they could come up with an escape plan. At this point, there were no other options.

The Marin gentleman raised an eyebrow before pulling a whistle out of his pocket. He gave it three sharp blows and a moment later two men holding a stretcher came aboard. "Don't be alarmed." The man said. "Whether you believe it or not, our captain wishes nothing more than to speak with you. The armed escort is more of a formality, truth be told." He had a very soothing voice, one that was easy to trust. Something about it seemed to ease Rook and Alec out of their tension. "These gentlemen will go below and collect your injured comrade." He looked at Bishop, noting how calm he was given the situation. "Would you be so kind as to guide them? I can only imagine you wouldn't want strangers, Marines at that, gallivanting through your ship. Also please notify any other crewmates that while we are on the opposing sides of the law, we mean none of you any harm nor threat of imprisonment."

The entirety of the crew, even Bishop, blinked. What was he talking about? He didn't intend on arresting them? They immediately assumed he was lying so that they would lower their guard, but there was just something about him that set you at ease. But there was also something almost mechanical about that last part. 'We mean none of you any harm nor threat of imprisonment'. It was almost like he had had to say that line so many times that it has become second nature for him to say it.

Doc was curious. What kind of Marine wanted to speak with a pirate instead of arresting him? Feeling Bishop's eyes, he turned before silently nodding his head. For now, they should play along and do as they ask. Eying the men, Bishop slowly led them below deck.

"Very good." The Marin gentleman said approvingly. "Now, if I may?" He gestured to the gangplank and started walking back up it.

With little choice, Rook and Alec sheathed their weapons and followed Doc as they made their way to the Marine ship. Behind them, the soldiers fell into line, effectively cutting off their escape. When they reached the deck, they found the entire thing covered in soldiers, all of them staring intently. They were oddly quiet. They had expected jeers and insults. The silence was a bit creepy.

It wasn't long before Bishop, Maya, and two men holding their patient in a stretcher came to join them. They all stood close together, feeling like mice on a ship full of cats. In front of them, the Marine gentleman stood aside and put his hand over his heart and bowed. The crowd of soldiers split as a large men stomped towards them. He looked around fifty years old and nothing but muscle. His black hair had sprays of grey in it and his trimmed beard was entirely grey. He wore the standard Marine white and blues. On his shoulders he wore a cloak that had the angry face of a grizzly bear with the words "BEAR WITH IT!" written underneath. He had a large, toothy grin on his face and in his hands he held a packet of papers…wanted posters to be exact.

The bowing gentleman announced as he approached, "May I introduce Rear Admiral Captain Bear."

Rook snorted. "Rear Admiral Captain? The hell kind of title is that? I've never even heard of that rank."

"My apologies, but I believe you've misunderstood. The good captain's official Marin rank is Rear Admiral. Captain is his first name."

He couldn't help it. Despite the dire circumstances, he burst out laughing. "Are you kidding me? So he's Captain Captain Bear?"

"Bahahahahaha!"

All eyes turned to Bear as he laughed a big belly laugh as loud as can be. "That's right! The names Captain Bear. My parents had a queer sense of humor." His voice was deep and rumbling, like a volcano fit to explode. But there was oddly something warm about it, like he was greeting a friend, not an enemy. Walking over to their patient, he started flipping through the wanted posters until he found the right one. He held out the picture for them to see as he said, "'Knuckles' Isaac. Wanted for banditry across several islands along the Grand Line as well as destruction of property and vandalism. His head is worth a measly 70,000 beri." He looked different in the poster. There was something wild about it, especially in his eyes. His scruffy beard wasn't there either. In the poster, he wasn't shaved though he did have some scruff to him. It was a rugged look. Then he turned his gaze to Doc. "But you…" he pulled out a poster that looked a few years older than Isaacs. "'Pirate Doctor' Doc Woodall." He said, his voice deepening with seriousness. "Worth 200,000,000 beri, you are a treasure trove to any bounty hunter."

Alec staggered back. "Holy shit, _how_ much is he worth?" His head snapped towards his captain. He'd always known that he had a bounty on his head. He had told him so when he first joined. But he had never asked exactly how much. "How the hell did you manage that? You're a freaking pacifist!"

Bear let out another one of his rolling laughs. "Didn't think you the type to hide your infamy from your own crew, Pirate Doctor." Then he immediately stopped, disgust seeping into his features as he began reading off all the crimes Doc had committed. "Betrayal of Marine secrets, providing medical assistance to pirates against Marine orders, taking medical personnel hostage and murdering them in order to escape custody." The entire ship was silent as the hatred in Bear's voice became more and more prominent with every word. "Impersonating a Marine officer, stealing medicinal ingredients from a Marine research facility, administering false medical treatments, kidnapping, dressing as a nun and sneaking onto holy ground, and _bioterrorism_!"

Doc's face became more and more shrouded as the list went on. Something like a mixture of anger and shame. Bear's hands shook with rage until he ripped the poster in half. "You are without a doubt one of the vilest villains I've ever met." He towered over dock, shadows falling over his face. "Do you know what I _do_ to villains on my ship?"

Doc gulped. He was tall, but Bear was a giant compared to him. He was head and shoulders above the doctor. It gave a very intimidating appearance. "Y-You let them go?" He answered hopefully.

"No!" Then he suddenly clapped his hands on his shoulders good-naturedly and smiled a huge grin at him. "We send them to sick bay to look after my wounded men!"

"…Huh?" That caught the entire crew off guard. Even Maya was staring with confusion on her face.

"Doc, I may not know much, but I'm smart enough to know false charges when I see them!" With a flick of his wrist, he directed his men to take Isaac to Sick Bay where he could recover in peace. "Doctor Woodall." He said, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "Once upon a time, there wasn't a single Marine who didn't know your name." He took his hands off Doc, still smiling, and turned for them to follow. "Come, come! I'll give you the tour! I've wanted to talk with you for a very long time, doctor. We'll have ourselves a nice sit down and then…" There was a hint of mischief in his voice as his men went about to do their duties. "I'd like to hear the tale of how one of the Marine's greatest doctors became a pirate."

* * *

 **There you have it folks. Not too much action packed into this one, but I hope there's enough content and suspense to keep you happy.**

 **Let me know how I've been doing, or better yet what you would like to see happen. Till next time!**


	10. The Good Heart

**Sorry for not updating in so long. With Thanksgiving and other plans, I didn't have time to sit down and write. But all that is over now! Which means I will be going back to my normal schedule of Sunday updates.**

 **On with the story!**

* * *

Despite Captain Bear's apparent friendliness, the crew was still tense. And who could blame them? They were pirates on a Marine ship. For all they knew, Bear was lying through his teeth and they were on their way to a cell.

But as they descended flights of stairs into the inner hold of the ship, they noticed something strange. None of Bear's men were even stopping to stare at them. There wasn't even an armed escort around them to make sure they didn't escape. This meant one of two things. Either Bear was that confident of his abilities…or he was telling the truth.

They passed what sounded like the kitchen. There was banging of pots and shouting of orders accompanied by the aroma of cooking food. They must be preparing for dinner. Maya glanced inside to see what they were making. She scrunched her nose in disgust. It didn't look like they had a dedicated cook, more like they just happened to have someone who knew how to not burn anything. But even so, she couldn't imagine it was going to taste good.

Going on their way, they passed even more rooms including an armory and a very large dining room. It looked big enough to seat the entire ship's crew. "Here we are!" Bear suddenly announced. They reached a set of large double doors. They were made of wood and had elegant carvings etched onto them. The left door was engraved with a skull wearing a crown. It looked down at them and seemed to laugh at them and their mortality. The right door was fit with a beautiful angel with wings and a halo. In her hands was the rod Asclepius, the single snake twined around the staff. It was baring its fangs towards the skull, as if warning it to leave them alone. The two gave the whole crew a sense of foreboding mixed with ease. Sickness could come to them at any moment, but the hope and skills of a doctor would keep them well. It made them all the more thankful for Doc.

Bear caught them admiring the doors. "Pretty fancy, ain't it? See, a long time ago, when this ship was first built, it was meant to be a mobile hospital. That creepy ass skull door represents the sickness and death that all those who travel the sea face every day. The Asclepius is a sacred symbol to doctors all around the world, representing health and longevity. Course you already knew that, Doc." He said with a grin. "These bad boys used to be the doors to the Captain's Quarters. But this boat ain't no hospital anymore. There's been a bunch of remodeling and repairs since then, leaving only the Sick Bay in its original form. So I thought it fitting to have them moved here."

With that, he pushed both doors open wide. They were met with the smell of antiseptic. It was huge. They could have easily fit two of their ship inside this one room. There were different areas, each separated from the others by curtains. All around were cots and beds and nurses administering treatments. Not far from them, Isaac was sleeping off his surgery in a cot. But all over were men being taken care of. Some had broken bones or fractures. Others were holding their stomachs and groaning softly. But the vast majority were ashen pale and eerily still. All of them were gathered in one section of the room.

When Doc saw them, he immediately ran to them. Pulling out his bag, he started checking those men. "Oh god." He said softly. "Bear, what happened to these men?"

Rook and the others went to join Doc. Oddly enough, Bishop alone stepped away, preferring to stand by the unconscious Isaac. He wanted to sink back into Rook's shadow but he didn't want to reveal his skills to the Marines. Whether they were friendly or not, he still didn't want to give them all his secrets. So for now, he would stay out of the way and not draw attention to himself.

Bear scowled. "We had a run in with some pirates a few days back. Normal sweep, normal routine. None of them had any serious bounties." He gnashed his teeth together in a fit of frustration and self-loathing. "I let my men get slack. We didn't take the bunch seriously. And because of that, I didn't realize they had coated their weapons with poison." He ran a hand over his face in shame. "I was negligent and now my men are paying the price. We don't have the necessary antidote. Neither do the neighboring towns. And the nearest hospital that would have it is too far away." Then this man, this large towering man, a Rear Admiral of the Marines, bowed his head to a pirate. He was on all fours, bowing his head nearly to the floor. "These men are my family. And they are dying because of me. Please doctor. Please help them." He begged. "I can't force you to do it. But I have nowhere else to turn. You were once known for your compassion in the old days. I beg you to use it now."

Doc was taken aback by the sudden deluge of pleas. But he soon knelt down and smiled. "Captain…I am, and always will be, a doctor first and foremost. Being a pirate comes afterwards." Standing, he looked at him kindly before becoming serious. "This looks like Bone Eater poison. It stiffens the muscles as it deteriorates the bones. They may seem calm, but I can't imagine the agony they are feeling right now. If they could, they'd be screaming." He turned to his crew. "I only have a small dose of the antidote. Maya, I want you to retrieve it." Pulling a notepad and a pen out of his bag, he wrote down two copies of list. "Then I want Rook and Alec to get these ingredients out of storage." He handed the other paper to Bear, who was looking up at Doc with awe on his features. "Up and at 'em. Scour your inventory too. You've got a lot of sick patients." He smiled a reassuring smile as he turned to poisoned men. "If we're going to help them all, we're going to need a lot of hands."

His confidence boosted everyone into action. The warmth of his conviction had every man and woman who wasn't in bed on their feet helping. Bear sprang to his feet and bellowed, "You heard the man! Get hoppin'! If I see so much as one ass in a chair you'll be on latrine duty!"

Maya, Rook, and Alec ran back to the ship to get everything Doc needed. It was for events like this that they kept so many ingredients on their ship. It was for saving lives like these that Doc carried medicine instead of cannons.

Soon every available hand had a mortar and pestle as they ground ingredients together. Those that weren't doing that were mixing the powder into a solution that Doc made. Some of the Navy doctors were astounded as they studied the ingredients that were being used. One of them went to Doc and asked, "How did you come up with this antidote? Aside from one, none of these items were used in the original antidote recipe."

Doc looked up from the patient he just administered the antidote to. "Well, if you look at my bounty, it says that I stole research. Believe it or not, some scientists were studying different poisons and their reactions to prisoner test subjects." While he spoke, he moved to the next patient. "I stole that research and used it to concoct antidotes for all the poisons they were studying. Luckily for us, Bone Eater was one of them. The chemicals in these ingredients react more strongly than the previous ones." He scratched his head a little awkwardly. "Although it'll cure the poison, it won't reverse the damage. They're going to need a lot of physical therapy before they're at one hundred percent again."

All the hustle and excitement roused Isaac. He blearily opened his eyes and sat up in bed only to quickly fall back down from the pain. "The hell am I?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Bishop, who was still nearby but had his own mortar and pestle. "Relax." He said softly. "It is a long story, but you aren't in any danger here."

Isaac looked down at the bandages covering his torso. "You the one that helped me?" He asked gruffly.

The navigator shook his head then nodded at Doc. "Not me, my Captain. He's a doctor. When you came crashing onto our ship, he patched you up." Crossing his legs, he shifted his chair so that he was near the head of Isaac's head, giving him a better view of what was happening while continuing his own work.

Isaac studied everything carefully. The pain had dulled some, but he knew that he was going anywhere soon. Pushing through the pain, he managed to sit up. "Guess I owe you." He admitted. He gestured at all the activity. "So what's going on here? Some sort of accident or something?"

Bishop shook his head and paused his grinding to point at the men. "Those soldiers got poisoned." He lifted his mortar to show him the powder. "We're all making an antidote to save them." Then an idea formed in his mind…well more of a plan really. Leaning in, he whispered, "We're on a Marine ship, you know. Sorry to say this after your near death experience, but we've been good and caught."

Isaac swore loudly enough that some nearby nurses retreated a few steps. They had been conversing quietly, glancing at Bishop every few seconds. They had probably been interested in the mysterious masked man but Isaac's roughness chased them away.

"First bounty hunters and now Marines? Can my luck get any worse?" He sighed. Leaning back in his bed, he muttered swear words and cursed his own fate. He knew that there wasn't any way of escape as banged up as he was. It was Impel Down for him.

Good. That look of frustration and hopelessness had been exactly what Bishop had been waiting for. With a sinister smile, he said, "Don't count yourself out just yet. The Vice Admiral over there has a soft spot for my Captain. Play your cards right an you might be able to get out of this with us."

"Wait. You're not a Marine?"

"I'm a pirate. We got captured same as you." With a dark aura about him, Bishop told him his plan. "But after we're done saving his men, Bear might let us go." Time to put his plan into action. "So tell me…for the sake of your freedom are you willing to become a pirate?"

* * *

After three hours of grueling work, everyone was finally resting. The soldiers were slowly regaining color in their cheeks and their muscles were starting to relax. Knowing that they had deserved a good break, they all went to the Mess Hall for dinner. The food was a tasteless gruel, but after the work they just did none of them cared. Aside from Maya that is. She ate it but she was frowning the entire time.

Isaac joined them. Feeling too much like an invalid, he didn't want to eat his dinner in a bed while everyone else ate at the table. He had shaved in the interim. Using a razor, he lost the beard leaving only stubble behind. The beard had made him look older than he actually was. Without it, he looked in his mid to younger twenties. He'd wanted to bathe too but he couldn't afford to get his stitches wet. He had a very thoughtful, almost perturbed look all through the meal.

As they ate, Captain Captain Bear regaled them with stories of his adventures as a Captain. Unlike the rest of the crew, he had a whole ham with the bone still in it. He was holding the bone and took bites out of it all through the story.

"So there I was," he was saying, "all around me, my fallen men were gasping for breath." Said men were either smiling nostalgically or rolling their eyes. They had either been there or had heard the story so many times that they could quote it by heart. "The enemy crew was all but defeated but the sea wasn't finished with us. Each breath took in more water than air from the rain pouring from the sky. The only light we had came from the flashes of lightning that arced across the sky. And then there it was, towering over us. A Sea King! The likes of which I had never seen!" Rook, Alec, and Doc were entranced by the story. Isaac soon joined them, the tale rousing him from his thoughts. Maya was too busy judging the food. Bishop was listening closely but he'll never admit that to the others. Instead he observed the storytelling with feigned impartialness.

"Just as we thought we were victorious, this brute came, attracted by the smell of blood and battle. Oh I can still remember the look in his eyes!" Standing up, Bear waved his ham around, envisioning the creature still looking down on him. "He was licking his chops, ready to feast on us. But I wasn't going to let him take as much as one bite out of my crew." He suddenly jumped onto the table, brandishing the ham and shouted, "So what I did was, I jumped into the air, my men shouting all around me. And the moment my feet left the ground, lightning struck me. I could feel it in my very bones! But I wasn't going to let that stop me. Pushing through, I leapt across the ship and PUNCHED it with ma fist!"

The four listeners gasped in awe. Next to him, Bishop heard someone whisper, "Believe it or not, the good Captain truly _did_ shout that as he fought the beast." The masked pirate turned to see the gentleman from before sitting next to him sipping a cup of aromatic tea. He had an amused look as he lowered his cup. "During the incident, he shouted, and I'm quoting, 'and I punched it with ma fist' as he landed the finishing blow."

Hearing him, Bear turned and pointed his ham at the gentleman. "And look how great of a story it became because I did. I was right to do it, wasn't I Winston?"

The gentleman, Winston, smiled politely at his Captain. "Of course, sir. Very much so." Bishop chuckled quietly. It seemed Winston had to put up with a very rowdy captain.

Jumping down from the table, Bear bit a large chunk out of the ham and said while chewing, "Well enough of my exploits." He swallowed and turned dead serious. "I'd like to hear one of yours, Pirate Doctor. Specifically on how you became a pirate."

Doc and Maya shared a glance. Which wasn't lost on Bear. He grinned. "Oooooooh. I should have known it would involve a woman!" He clapped the doctor on the back playfully. But playfully for him was painful for Doc. "Might want to avoid making this forbidden love public though. There are laws and all that."

Doc choked and Maya, who had been holding a glass of water, suddenly crushed that glass in her hand. Rook and Alec were glancing between the two, waiting for a reaction. Doc was the first one to respond. "N-No! Nothing like that." He panicked. "We, we aren't like that! I mean, yeah she was involved but, uh…"

There was the sound of breaking glass as Maya loosened her grip, causing pieces of her cup fell to the table. The look she gave Doc lowered the room temperature by twenty degrees. Rook and the Marines who had been sitting next to her backed away out of fear for their wellbeing.

Doc swallowed a frog. Bear was watching like it was the best entertainment he had ever seen. He sat stock still, waiting to see what would happen next. Clearing his throat, Doc stated, "It started when I saved Maya's life." He remembered it clearly. How could he ever forget? "I'd been a Marine for about four years at that point. And like you said, I'd gained some fame. But one year…I was forced to leave. You could almost say I was fired." He leaned back in his chair as he remembered. "I was deployed on a ship that was patrolling around Sabaody Archipelago. The captain of the ship had a few…prejudices. We were on our way back to base. Our supplies were low and tensions were high. To make matters worse, we were at least three days away from the nearest island. Some of the men were trying their hand at fishing, anything to get some food on the table." His eyes went to Maya. "But what they snagged wasn't a fish. It was a mermaid." Like Doc, all eyes went to Maya, who hugged her arms close to herself and avoided their gazes.

"I was on the run." Maya explain. Her normal temper was subdued by the recounting of the tale. "There were some slavers chasing me. I was hurt. And exhausted. If his crewmates hadn't fished me up, I would probably be dead."

There was a pause until Doc realized that was all Maya was going to say on the subject. He could understand. The specifics of her running away weren't something everyone should know. Especially strangers. So he picked up where he left off. "I insisted on treating her immediately. Her condition was serious…but my captain wouldn't allow it." He was filled with sadness as he looked at Bear. "You know what that area is like. Humans hate Merfolk there. And it turns out the captain was born in the area. The moment he saw Maya, he ordered us to throw her back into the sea." His grip tightened to the point that his nails broke skin and he bled. "He wanted us to _abandon_ her. Because she wasn't human! She needed our help but he cared so little for the lives of others that he wasn't willing to as much as let her be on our ship." He shook his head. "I wouldn't allow it. I told him that I wasn't just going to let her die. He _ordered_ me to do just that. The _Navy_ was going to turn its back on someone in need because of a barbaric prejudice…so when his men threw her back into the sea, I jumped in after her." The room was deadly quiet. In the heat of his story, Doc had forgotten the vast majority here were employed by said Navy. If he was insulting the organization, it was likely that they would turn on him

The awkward silence was broken by Bear. "You jumped in?" He asked. He looked thoughtful. "But you said you were three days away from land by ship. And if her condition was so critical, she wouldn't have survived the swim."

"We aren't sure how we lived." Maya spoke up. "I passed out from blood loss not long after he tried saving me. But when I woke up, we washed up on a beach somewhere."

"I'm not sure either." Doc explained. "I swam for I don't know how many hours before exhaustion overtook me. And like she said, when I came too we were beached. And lucky we were too because that island had a hospital." He adjusted his hat in embarrassment. "None of the doctors knew much about Mermaid anatomy though. Or so they said. So I had to operate on her on my own." He sighed, a tiredness creeping into his voice. "The Navy hunted me down a few days later. They offered to give me my job back if I were willing to give them Maya. Well we all know what that meant. Someone had their palms greased by someone who wanted to enslave Maya. Mermaids are precious in the slave trade. Frankly I'm surprised nobody tried to kidnap her while she was still recuperating. But I had had enough of the military at that point. I turned them down. The Marines who came to me must have known my reputation because they didn't press the issue. They just left without another word."

"It was after that that we started traveling together." Maya explained. "Doc here has no backbone so he needed someone with a firm hand. Cause he wouldn't last on his own."

Doc laughed lightly. "Well she's right. It wasn't too long after that that I was branded a pirate. I can only imagine that my old Captain was the one that pushed for that. I'd openly defied him. It must have damaged both his ego and reputation…Want to know what the last thing he said to me was? Just before I jumped into the ocean, he looked me in the eye and told me 'That good heart of yours will be your death.' Well I couldn't resist the irony of it all. When we became a pirate crew, there could only be one name for us. The 'Good Heart' Pirates."

* * *

 **I hope this longer chapter will make up for me not updating in a while. But again, rest assured that the schedule will be normal again.**

 **I hope you all liked it and I'll see you next time!**


	11. Storytelling

**So…apparently when I said I was going to return to my normal schedule was a lie. I fully intended to start writing again after finals were over but there were…complications. Meaning that I went back home for Winter Break and I left my desktop at my apartment. Which meant I didn't have access to any of my story files until I came back. Not much of an excuse but it's all I got.**

 **Good news is that I'm back now and school starts up tomorrow. Meaning I really will be back on my normal schedule. So it isn't a lie this time when I say that I'll be back to updating every Sunday.**

 **Now on with the story!**

* * *

As Doc finished his story, Bear let another of his deep belly laughs. "Well who'd have thought it, huh? _We_ turned you into a pirate? Isn't that just big ass piece of irony!"

He slapped Doc on the back with enough force to push the pirate over. "Hehe…yeah I guess you could look at it that way." He said with a hint of embarrassment. "I never intended to become a pirate. I would have just become a traveling doctor. To be honest, I was pretty shocked when I saw my bounty in the paper."

"You have a point there. Normally the Navy doesn't give a bounty to someone as harmless are you." In a sudden turn of seriousness, Bear put his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together. "Which means there has to be some basis to the accusations made against you, doctor." Winston was suddenly at Bear's side and handed him Doc's bounty. Bishop had to suppress his shock since the butler-like-marine had just been sitting next to him just a second ago. "Thank you, Winston." Bear said as he took the paper. He scanned it before pointing out two crimes. "My money's running on these guys."

Doc and his crew leaned forward to see them. _Stealing medicinal ingredients from a Marine research facility_ and _bioterrorism_. The first one seemed pretty possible actually. They had stolen research material on more than one occasion. Doc would take the notes and either continue them or reverse-engineer them in order to make a cure for any particular disease. But bioterrorism? That just wasn't something Doc would do. He opposes fighting in all of its forms, including the purposeful spreading of disease.

Doc had a nostalgic look as he stared at the bounty. "Mm. Both are true." He pointed at the Marine research entry. "Three times I've snuck into a Marine base, posing as a doctor. I would help the people there but then I would leave. During both escapades, I created a cure for First was for the cure to the Bone Eater poison. The second and third times were for 'Terror Pox' and 'Irregular Bone Snap Disorder'. Terror Pox is a rare and deadly variant of Chicken Pox. It usually develops in children in Winter Islands and it's extremely contagious. A single touch is all it takes to become infected. In extreme cases, even breathing can spread the disease. At the time, I had a patient, a child. He was quarantined in a single room where he could only writhe in pain. There were no known cures at the time, but I remember hearing rumors that a nearby base was doing research into various diseases." He locked eyes with Captain Bear. "The documents I stole explained on ways to create the disease. They were plans on weaponizing it by planting it inside rodents. That way it would spread across entire cities. After I created the cure, I burned those papers. And Irregular Bone Snap Disorder? It's a condition where bone marrow is replaced with a puss-like fluid. It builds inside the bones until it bursts, producing snapping sound. It's not uncommon in nations with poor labor laws and sanitation, particularly where mining is prominent. Most of the known cures require costly and rare ingredients. But the recipe I stole is made up of herbs that can all be bought with a child's allowance at your local pharmacy. The researcher who discovered it decided he wouldn't be able to make enough money if he made the research public. So I stole it and spread it to every newspaper I could get ahold of."

Bear made a noise of gratitude, something between a sob and a roar. "Aye. I remember when that happened. It sparked a lot of interest. Saved a lot of lives too."

There was a chatter among the men. A few of them had been saved by that cure. None of them realized they were in the midst of the doctor who had produced the cure.

"Each time I find a vaccine or antidote, I always publicize it." Doc continued. He smiled, a hint of pride mixed with the kindness. "Cures aren't meant to be hoarded. They need to be shared around the world in order to save as many people as possible."

"…What about the bioterrorism?"

All attention went to Isaac. Nobody had expected that question from him. Nor the amount of depth in which he asked. This wasn't just a simple question for him, there was something…else. Something heavy in the question, like the answer would determine the coming events.

Oddly enough, it was Bear who answered. "Gwenda Island." He said slowly. That took all the eyes off Isaac to him. Seeing the change in attention, he just sat back in his seat and bit down on his ham. "A few years ago, you should have still been a Marine then Doc, we were at war with the country of Gwen. They weren't much in the way of fighting, but they were exceptional builders. They fortified Gwenda Island like a fortress to the point where even we couldn't get in. The war waged for four years, neither side able to make a move. Every time we tried breaching their defenses, we would suffer heavy losses. Every time they tried to mount an attack, they would deal with the same. It became a standoff." He set his ham down on the plate and sighed wearily. "I was captain of one of the ships stationed there. I remember those days as if I was stranded at sea, never moving, never making progress. But then one day, word got to us that a plague had taken root in the Gwen people. There was celebrating in the barracks, everyone was relieved that this war of attrition was nearing its end." He shook his head sadly. "All we had to do was wait. Wait for the disease to kill everyone on the island. We were basically condemning soldiers and civilians alike to a painful demise."

The weariness in his eyes was suddenly replaced with a glimmer of mischief. "But then, in the span of one night, the citizens had a miraculous recovery." He spoke with hushed tones, like he was telling a secret. He snapped his fingers. "In the blink of an eye, the Gwen people were back in fighting shape. Nobody knows how. Gwenda didn't have medical knowledge advanced enough to cure the plague. There was only one answer, subterfuge. One of our own must have turned coat. We never _officially_ discovered the culprit but…we had our suspicions." His eyes wandered over to Doc.

The doctor could only bite back a smile as he rested his hands on his knee. He was quiet for a moment before he couldn't hold it back anymore. He said, just above a whisper, "It was me."

Bear sprang to his feet, cheering and shouting at the top of his lungs. "I knew it! I bloody knew it! Winston! Call up those other bastard Captains cause they owe me some beri!" While he was celebrating, Doc laughed at his reaction. "I was a doctor stationed during that war. I was also an advocate against it. But…orders were orders so I had no choice but to patch up the soldiers that got hurt in the raid attempts. It was actually a weight off my shoulders when it became a standoff. That meant there wouldn't be any more people hurt. But when I heard about the plague…well I just couldn't stand there."

At this point, Bear had calmed down and was sitting again. "Aye, that's why we pegged you as a suspect. Even in the higher ranks you were known to be too kind. There were rumors that you even helped pirates if they were hurt. And to top it all off, there wasn't anyone that could account for your whereabouts." His brow furrowed. "Actually, there was one lady that insisted that you were with her the entire night. A pretty young thing. If I remember right she was your-."

Suddenly, Doc lunged forward and clapped his hand over his mouth. He was sweating heavily and his eyes looked panicked. "Nope!" He said in an obviously loud voice. "You caught me officer! I'm the doctor that saved Gwenda Island. And boy have you set me straight!" Bear and the majority of his crew raised an eyebrow at that. They glanced over at Doc's crew to see if they could shed any light on what just happened, but what they saw confused them even more. Alec and Isaac looked just as lost as they were…but Rook and Bishop were another matter. Just as Doc had silenced Captain Bear, the brothers had slapped their hands over Maya's ears. The muscular Rook looked completely freaked out and even the normally composed Bishop had fear in his features. The mask hid his eyes, but his face in general was something laced with panic.

Maya herself looked enraged at the boys' actions. "The hell do you think you're doing!?" She grabbed them by their throats and lifted them into the air. Which was very impressive given how she was smaller than them. "Want to explain yourselves before I beat you into tomorrow's breakfast?"

"Our deaths mean nothing compared to the slaughter that would have happened!" Rook said gallantly.

"We gladly give our lives so that others may survive." Bishop added, trying not to let her choke him.

"What kind of answers are those?" She demanded. When they stayed silent (mostly because of asphyxiation), she tightened her grip and prepared to pummel them into submission before Doc talked her down.

"Now Maya, no need to do anything violent." He spoke as if he was facing a dangerous animal, half calming, half afraid. "Rook and Bishop are probably just tired from everything that happened today. "I'm sure they'll apologize for what they did in the morning."

Feeling mildly less wrathful, Maya sat back down, leaving the three men to take a collective sigh of relief. Things would have gotten…bloody if Bear had continued talking.

Their brush with death evaded, Doc continued. "I took a dingy and sailed across the sea at night. It was a new moon so I wasn't worried about anyone seeing me. And from the reports, I knew which disease was gripping the nation so I filled up on the cure and made sure I knew how to make more once I got there." He smiled anxiously. "At first, I was pretty sure they were going to kill me once I got there. But at that point, they were so weak they couldn't put up a fight. And even after I cured them, I'm sure they still didn't trust me. But I was saving their families, their children. So when I asked for help, they were happy to do it. And with everyone working together, we managed to get the cure to everyone before the sun was up."

Bear grunted. "So that's why you're called a bioterrorist. You didn't spread a disease, you cured it. And because you did, that enemy nation was able to rise and fight back again."

That story seemed to relieve Isaac somewhat…but there was still something hesitant about him. The others didn't notice it, but Bishop, who had been watching him closely, took note.

"Hah! Well enough storytelling for one night. I think it's time we all went to bed." Bear suddenly announced. "We've all had a tiring day but," he raised a tankard in salute, "to the Good Heart Pirates!"

Everyone raised tankards of their own. "To the Good Heart Pirates!"

"They all drained their cups and slammed them on the table, empty. "No get some sleep! We've got a lot of work tomorrow."

* * *

 **I hope this is enough to appease you all for my lack of updates the past month. And again, fear not because we will be back on schedule. For real this time.**

 **Let me know what you think. See you next time!**


	12. Leaving the Bear

**See, what did I tell you? Back on track. And boy do I have a chapter for you all. Get ready for a good surprise!**

* * *

The Good Heart Pirates woke to the sound of hammers and saws. Naturally, they had no idea why so they ran to the deck. But they didn't even have to go that far. The moment the men left their combined room, they saw the Marines prowling around the deck. A pirate's first instinct when that happens is to get either really scared or really angry. But in the case of Bear's men it was more…expected. At this point they weren't surprised.

Alec groaned as he rubbed the sleep out of his baggy eyes. His normally slicked back hair was messy and sticking out in odd places. He wasn't a morning person. "So….the hell are they doing and why couldn't they wait till later?" Next to him, Rook was too busy nodding off to say anything.

Doc, who _was_ a morning person, just chuckled as he walked out of the kitchen and handed the thief a cup of coffee. "Bear noticed the hole in our ship. She he sent some men to fix it." He looked with mild concern at Rook as his eyes closed as he fell back asleep standing.

Alec took the cup and sipped from it, ignoring the heat that burned his mouth. He made a sound of appreciation as the caffeine entered his system and smacked his lips together. "Okay. And they couldn't do this later…why?"

The captain shrugged. "You know Marines, always doing something. This is probably the only time they could squeeze us into their schedule." He took a sip of his own beverage, probably something caffeine free, like tea or hot chocolate. The good doctor didn't like caffeine. Said it made his hands shake and makes him lose his focus. "Just accept the help. Now we don't have to pay a shipwright to do it."

That pacified Alec. If it meant they didn't have to spend money, he was all for it. So he went from complaining to silently drinking his coffee.

It was around that time that Rook suddenly woke up again. His eyes popped open and he sniffed at the air. "I don't smell food. Is Maya not awake yet?"

He was interrupted as one Marine, a little shorter than the others, ran up and saluted to them. "I have a message from Mother! She says that breakfast is currently cooking and you should make your way to the Mess Hall in about an hour."

All three men blinked slowly. "Mother?"

The Marine straightened his back. "Yes, sirs! Mother Maya has been gracious enough to cook breakfast for the entire ship."

"My god." Alec groaned. "She's even got the _Marines_ whipped."

The Marine's stomach suddenly growled. "We don't have a fully qualified chef stationed here. So we haven't had a good meal in weeks." He gulped. "Mother chased away those of us who were loitering around the kitchen."

They could all picture that perfectly. A bunch of starved looking Marines hovering around Maya, just trying to smell the food she was cooking. And then the inevitable backlash as the mermaid beat every one of them.

Shaking his head, Doc finished his cup and nodded at his crew. "Well I'm off to talk with Bear. We'll be heading out as soon as the repairs are done. Until then, just relax." He set off for the Marine ship before shouting back, "And Alec? No looting!"

* * *

He made a short detour to Sick Bay to check on the recovering men. So far, it looked like they would all make a complete recuperation. It warmed his heart to see it. While he was there, he even checked over Isaac, who was sleeping on one of the beds there. He opened one eye to watch Doc as he approached, but other than that he didn't make any movements. He just sat silently as Doc made sure that none of his wounds had begun to fester or that his bones hadn't slipped out of place again.

Once he was reassured of his health, he went to the Captain's Quarters. Upon entering his room, Bear looked up from his desk and belted out another of his bellowing laughs.

"Well if it isn't the doctor! Hope my men are treating your ship well?"

Doc smiled and nodded. "Of course they are. They're tearing out the broken planks and replacing them with new ones. It really is saving us a good deal of time and money with you doing this. You have our thanks." He extended a hand which Bear shook.

"First you saved my soldiers and now your cook is whipping up a meal the likes of which we haven't seen in days! If anyone should be thanked, it is you pirates. Bahahaha! Never thought I'd hear myself say that!"

As he spoke, a waft of aroma drifted from the kitchen. Bear took a deep breath to enjoy it. But then his brow furrowed in confusion. "Wait…is-is that ham?" He sniffed the air a few times before he pulled open a drawer in his desk only to find it empty. "That mermaid took my ham!" There was a rage in his eyes that Doc couldn't readily identify. But then, the larger man slammed his fist on his desk, causing a hidden compartment to open on the top, revealing another ham. Bear laughed as he picked it up and took a big bite out of it. "And that is why we keep the Emergency Ham!"

Doc was beginning to wonder how this ship even managed to stay afloat with Bear as its Captain. But it was time to get serious. "So…what are you intentions with my crew?" He knew that he was grateful for saving his men. But here and now he needed to know what he intended. It wouldn't be the first time a Marine had acted friendly before slapping on the irons. Bear seemed like the good sort, the likable sort. He wanted to trust him. But if they didn't hash this out now, there would always be a doubt in his mind.

Captain had a weird look on his face as he munched on his ham. "What are you talking about? As soon as we're done with repairs, you're free to go."

Doc raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Just by turning me in, you would likely get a promotion. Not to mention you would get a cut of my bounty."

Bear waved a dismissive hand at him. "If I was interested in a money, I wouldn't have become a Marine. It is my sworn duty to protect the people. And you, Doc, are not a threat to anyone." He looked into his eyes with an unwavering sincerity. "You are a force of good. If I take you in, I can't imagine how many would suffer or parish without you to help them. I'm well aware of your network. While surveying the damage to your ship, my men noted the large amount of Transponder Snails you keep on board. They must connect to islands, patients, people who need you. Why would I tear you away from them? In my eyes, the only crime you ever committed was making enemies with the wrong people."

Hearing him say that lifted a huge weight from his shoulders. But there was one more thing he needed to know. "And what of Isaac? He's still my patient."

Bear leaned back in his chair. "That's a different matter. Unlike you, he has hurt people. Wherever he goes, he destroys buildings and puts people in hospitals. There are only minor offenses against him, but he is still a menace to society. It might have been different if he were a member of your crew. But while he may be your patient, he is _my_ prisoner."

Doc wasn't sure how he felt about that. True, he didn't really need to intervene on his behalf, but it still felt wrong. Doc had promised to heal him, to make him better. But if the Marines wanted to turn him in…what could he do? Just because Bear liked him didn't mean he would tolerate Doc openly acting against him. And he had his crew to think of. Was he really willing to put one man over his friends? Thinking about it that way, he had little choice. Isaac was already on the road to healing. And Bear wouldn't mistreat the man.

He shook his head and opened his mouth to argue. But before he could, Maya's voice rang out from the hall. "Come get something to eat you maggots!"

Bear's face erupted into a smile. "Hear that? Haha! Let's go get some grub!" Bear wasn't even trying to hide the drool as he raced for the door. "If someone touches the ham, they'll have to answer to me!

* * *

Breakfast was a feast to everyone's eyes. Bacon, honeyed ham, sausage, and eggs of every kind for the meat lovers and fruit, pancakes, waffles, toast, jams, and jellies for the more healthy eaters.

The room was filled with the aroma of cooked food and freshly cut fruit. Alec was eating eggs, sausage, and bacon while next to him Rook was eating every pancake he could get his hands on. Bishop was eating a bowl of fruit with a slice of jam covered toast while Doc only had toast. Isaac, contrary to Rook was devouring the waffles. The two were glaring at each other while they ate.

"Pancakes rule breakfast!" Rook announced.

"Waffles kick pancake ass!" Isaac countered.

The taunting only seemed to drive the two into an eating frenzy as they each ate more to try and get more into their gullets than the other.

But even they couldn't keep up with Bear and his men. They ate as ravenously as starved wolves. As one plate was emptied, another was filled with everything in reach. Several were crying as they ate. Bear was one of them with his plate piled high with ham slices topped with a single cherry. Even Winston had a tear run down his cheek as he ate.

"I'd forgotten what a cooked meal tasted like!" He sobbed. The room resounded with the agreeing cries of the other Marines. "Doc!" He shouted. "If you don't marry this woman, _I WILL_ _ **!**_ _"_

Doc choked on his toast. "W-What!? N-No! We-we aren't like that! I mean Maya's…Maya's…" He trailed off from the death glare said mermaid was giving him. Her fork was bent, the piece of fruit at the end falling back to her plate. The aura coming from her was dark enough to scare off a Sea King, but the soldiers were so engrossed in their meal that they didn't even notice.

"Go ahead." She said to her captain. "Keep digging that hole so I have a place to bury you."

"Ah…" Scared of his crewmate, the captain took his plate to go cower in the corner.

As he left, Bear looked up from his ham mountain. "What are you doing? Grow yourself a spine, man! A woman needs to be wooed! Flowers, chocolates, singing! Let me teach you the Bear family serenading technique!"

"Shut up before you get me killed!"

Rook looked up and shuddered. "Am I the only one who just got the image of Bear singing outside some poor woman's window?"

"Shut your trap!" Bear scolded. "I'll have you know that many a lady have fallen for my sonorous voice." He bragged.

"I've got money saying they said yes just to shut you up." Alec retorted with a smirk.

There was a chorus of 'ooooos', 'aaaahs', and laughter from Bear's men. "Oi! The next person to laugh will get to clean every weapon in the armory!"

As everyone laughed at Bear, nobody noticed Isaac approach Doc in his corner. "Hey." He said simply.

"Oh hello Isaac." Doc said pleasantly. He nodded over at the table. "A pretty motley crew, aren't they?" He laughed lightly at his small joke, but he couldn't keep his smile on. They were both silent until Doc said, "Listen…I doubt I will be able to take you with me. Captain Bear is willing to let my crew go, but since you aren't one of us I can't do much to protect you."

Isaac ground his teeth together. "Actually, that's why I wanted to talk to you." He tightened his fists together and his face contorted like he was trying to lift a great weight. "I want…to join your crew." That took Doc by surprise. Despite this being the Pirate Era, there weren't actually that many people wanting to become pirates. True, Isaac was a wanted man, but his sentence would be light. Two years at most. But if he suddenly became a pirate the amount of time he would spend in prison would increase by double. But before he could explain all this, Isaac interrupted his train of thought. "I know how to fight. I can hold my own against any kind of enemy so you don't have to worry about me pulling you down. I know you pirates use bounties like resumes, but just because mine is small doesn't mean I'm weak."

Doc just smiled at him. "Isaac…your strength isn't something that concerns me. Nor your fighting skills. We do often get into fights with Marines, bounty hunters, and even other pirates. But my crew…we try to fight as little as possible. I'm a doctor before I am a pirate. Where we go, you won't find glory or treasure. We sail the sea looking for people who need our help." He looked Isaac in the eye, looking for any sort of emotion. "Are you okay working with this kind of crew? I already have one problem child. I don't need another. If you hurt people unnecessarily, I will leave you behind for the authorities to catch. Is that clear?"

Isaac did something that looked out of place from his usual demeanor. Yet it looked natural on him. He smiled. A big grin. "I like money and women and booze. Fighting is just something I use to get those things." He said. "But if helping people will bring me the same, I'm willing to give it a try."

Doc smiled back. "Then welcome to the Good Heart Pirates."

All of a sudden, the room erupted with people cheering, "Welcome to the Good Heart Pirates!"

They looked around and found the whole room watching them. Alec was laughing while Maya rolled her eyes. "Great. Another mouth to feed." She muttered. Rook was staring at his new crewmate with a hint of dislike as Bishop gave him a silent thumbs up. Bear was cheering and laughing, as if he had seen this coming the entire time.

Isaac started blushing at all the attention. He tried to hide it by grinning as large as he could and shouting at them, "The names 'Knuckles' Isaac! At your god damned service!"

* * *

The crew were ready to raise anchor with their new crewmate in tow. Bear and Winston, as well as many of the crew were watching them prepare. The hole in their deck had been repaired so that it didn't even look like it happened. Among the number of the crew, Doc noticed that some of them had bandages and were leaning against their fellows for support. They must have been from the Sick Bay. The ones he had cured.

"Remember, if you ever need help just give us a call!" Doc shouted.

Winston bowed to him. "Of course, sir. We've already taken the liberty of recording your Transponder Snail number. I also left a note with our own if you ever require _our_ assistance."

"Hah!" Bear laughed. "Look at us! Marines and pirates trading numbers like school girls. But I'll be damned if you haven't earned it." He waved at them. "Try not to get yourselves killed out there."

Doc waved back as Rook raised the anchor and Isaac and Alec unfurled the sails. Bishop steered the ship so that they started pulling away from the Marine vessel. Looking back, they saw all attending members of the Marine crew saluting to them. Even those who were supposed to be working had stopped to pay their respects.

"Man that has to break _so_ many rules." Rook noted. "Who ever heard of Marines saluting pirates?" He shook his head in confusion but at the same time he was smiling.

"They are good people." Doc said cheerily. "To them, rank and occupation matter little."

Bear watched them go with a warm feeling in his heart. But while he was watching his friends go, a Marine, the small one that had relayed the message to the Good Heart pirates that morning, ran up to him sweating.

"Sir! Marine vessel coming up on the port side."

Bear's brow furrowed. "More Marines? There shouldn't be any other ships in this sector." Marching to the other side of the ship, he looked out as a smaller ship sailed up and weighed anchor next to them. In no time flat, the other crew was boarding their ship. And at their head was a man with shaved red hair that was mostly hidden beneath a standard regulation Marine cap. He wore the same white and blues that every Marine wore. His build was heavy muscled like a fist fighters, but at his side was a katana. He walked with an ever so slight limp that was almost indistinguishable to the eye. But Bear knew what to look for because he had met this man before.

"Ha! Here for another inspection are you? And here I thought it was common courtesy to call before coming." He acted like he was upset, but that didn't stop the smile from leaking onto his face.

"Surprise inspection." The man stated. His voice sounded young despite his muscled features. There was inexperience in that voice but at the same time a thirst for battle. He couldn't be any older than his mid-twenties. "Heard that a lot of your men got injured in a pirate attack. Headquarters sent me to confirm since you haven't been answering your Transponder Snail."

Bear waved him off. "Been too busy. I had to make medicine all day yesterday otherwise my men wouldn't have survived the night."

The man scanned the assembled crew. And what he saw didn't give him any confidence. Many of them were either injured or being supported so that they could stand. "Letting your crew get overrun by pirates like this…some people might think you've lost your touch."

Now that made Bear angry. "Listen here you little shit. I was Captain before you could swing your sword! If you're threatening to take me away from my men we're going to have a problem."

The inspector ignored him as he made his way to the starboard side. Where he saw a pirate ship sailing away from them. The visor of his cap darkened his eyes. "Captain Captain Bear, why are you not giving chase to those pirates? In fact, they seem to be sailing _away_ from you. Like they were just here."

"Who them? They won't pose any problems. In fact if it wasn't for them half my crew would be dead by now." He said with a grin. When the inspector turned to him, he saw the anger in his eyes. "Aww, don't get all bent out of shape. Once you get as experienced as me, you'll learn that not all pirates are bad pirates." He opened his arms and laughed. "Come on, bring it in and forget about them! For old time's sake!" He motioned him forward for a hug as the inspector started walking towards him. "Come on. Give us a hug. Hug, hug, ham-hug!"

He was smiling until he felt a sharp pain in his chest. His eyes widened and he staggered as he slowly looked down to see a katana protruding from his chest. The blade was black as night, like the Warlord Mihawk's. But this one had something sinister about it, like it wanted to take the life of everything it cut. He hadn't even seen it being drawn.

As blood started seeping around the blade, Bear slowly looked up, sweat pouring from the effort. He saw his men all stepping back in surprise. He saw the inspector's empty sheath. Then he finally looked into the face of his attacker. Blood started dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"What do you think you are doing… _Rorick Anderson?_ "

* * *

 **That came out longer than I thought it would! But hey, long chapters are good chapters.**

 **So what do you all think of this new plot twist? Let me know what you think and I'll see you next time!**


	13. An Encounter with the Past

**And we're back. For those of you that were worried, last week was my week off. And from now on I'll try to give you all a notice the week before from now on so that people don't start thinking I've forgotten to update again.**

 **With that out of the way, on with the story!**

* * *

Bear tried to move his arms, but they weren't responding. As more blood gushed out of his chest, he stared in astonishment. "What are you doing Rorick? This is treason!" More blood was coughed up, his body telling him that raising his voice wasn't the best idea in his condition.

Anderson just stared at the captain coldly. "Wrong. You are the one who committed treason the moment you willingly let those pirates escape. I'm just meting out judgement." To emphasize, he pushed his sword in deeper until he felt it pierce through his back.

Even though his body screamed in protest, he slowly moved his arms and reached out towards Rorick. "You…don't have…that authority!"

Realizing the sudden danger of being so close to Bear, Anderson pulled his sword out, as smooth as cutting butter, and stepped out of the captain's reach just as he lunged for his throat. The side step was hardly necessary, but better safe than sorry. "I know the rumors concerning you, Captain Bear. The moment someone gets in your grip they never escape. Do not think to do the same with me."

His opponent out of his reach, Bear attempted to step forward. However, the damage to his body was too much. He had managed to get his arms moving, but his legs were unresponsive. The moment he tried to walk, he collapsed on the ground.

"I've cut through your spine." Rorick said sternly. "Feel blessed that I've left you your arms." He turned as if to leave, but found his path blocked by enraged Marines.

"How dare you attack Captain!"

"Mutiny!"

"Someone call a doctor!"

And at their lead, Winston stood, his normally calm face contorted in rage. He was tightening the gloves he had on his hands and clenching his fists. "You've stepped outside of your authority and jurisdiction, Inspector Rorick Anderson. As such it is my duty as Vice-Captain of this ship to put you under arrest for the wrongful attack of a Marine Captain as well as abuse of authority." He spoke with his normal calm, respective manner, but the hate in his eyes was very real. "If you and your men would kindly lay down your arms, I will proceed with escorting you into your holding cells."

Rorick didn't even give the command. His men took out their guns and opened fire.

* * *

Bishop was at the helm when he heard the shooting. It was faint which meant they weren't in any danger, but it was still concerning. So he left the helm room and onto the deck where he saw the others gathering as well. Alec had a spyglass and he was looking in the direction of Bear's ship. As he approached, he heard his brother ask the question that was on his mind.

"So are they shooting at us or something?" He wondered.

"I don't know…kind of looks like they're shooting each other."

"What? Gimme that thing. Why the hell would they be doing that?" Grabbing the glass from Alec, Rook looked out towards the battle. "Holy shit, you're right. Was there a mutiny or something?"

None of them believed that. They may have only spent one night on the ship, but they could all tell that not a single one of Bear's men would become a turncoat. Not willingly at least.

"The timing doesn't fit." Bishop commented. "A mutiny wouldn't wait until the pirates left the ship. If anything, a mutineer would try to recruit us to help them against the others."

They all murmured their agreement until they heard the "Purupurupurupuru." Of a Transponder Snail. At that moment, Isaac burst from below deck with said snail in his hands. "Oi! The fuck do I do with this thing?"

"Oh. Thank you Isaac, I'll answer." Doc said. He was concerned about Bear and his men, but this particular snail was red with a blue shell. He called it his Emergency Snail. It was the number he gave people if they had an emergency. He picked it up with a "Katcha" and the sounds of a battle immediately erupted from the snail. Its face changed into a panicked one and it looked wounded, with blood running down its face.

"Doctor! Doctor help!" He shouted. "Please come quick!"

"Slow down!" Doc said. "What's wrong, who is this?"

There was a pause as more gunfire was heard in the background. Maya and Isaac looked over at Bear's ship. Their blood turned cold as they could hear the distant fighting.

Then the person on the other end started talking again. "I'm Seaman Recruit Erk Travel. I serve under Captain Bear." He was panting and they multiple footsteps running. They were probably trying to escape the battle in order to call for help. "I was the messenger the captain sent when he wanted to talk to you." They all suddenly remembered the short marine who had called Maya 'Mother'.

"Right, we remember you." Doc said encouragingly. "Now tell us what's happening. We can hear the fighting from our ship."

"Sir!" The Recruit said. He seemed relieved that there was someone to give him orders. "Not long after you left, an Inspector came. I'm not sure about the details myself but he attacked the Captain!" Tears started streaming from the snail's eyes. "He impaled him where he stood with a blade as dark as night!"

There was a beat of silence on their end as the Marine screamed followed by a sudden bout of gunfire. Rook and Bishop slowly turned to the snail, a mixture of fear and suspicion. There was more heavy breathing, meaning the recruit had survived the attack. Rook grabbed the receiver from Doc, his eyes practically bloodshot with intensity.

"Who was it!?" He demanded. "What's the guy's name?"

"Why does that-?"

He was cut off as Rook shook the receiver in frustration. "Just tell me the damn name!"

"He's – uh – Marine Inspector _Rorick Anderson_."

Rook dropped the receiver. All he could hear was that name reverberating in his head and the blood rushing in his ears.

Bishop started shaking and brought a hand to press against the scarred half of his face. He couldn't believe it. Neither of them could believe it. Why would _he_ be here?

Doc approached the two brothers with concern. "Rook…Bishop…"

Rook stood stock still. The scar on his hand started itching. Likewise Bishop was reliving the phantom memories of the pain he had endured.

The sudden silence concerned the Marine Recruit. "D-Doctor? Doctor are you there? Can you hear me?"

"Yes Erk, I'm here." He said, with one more look of concern at the brothers.

"Please, sir. You helped us before so please…please save us now. The captain is injured, possibly…dead." The word came out heavy as lead. "Vice-captain Winston is trying to hold them off but there are too many for him to contain. Even now more and more are pouring in. Anyone that doesn't surrender immediately is shot." He sniffed and wiped away some tears, only to be replaced by more. "So many of my comrades are dead. I don't know what to do other than beg for help. So please Doctor…no, the Good Heart Pirates. Please save us!"

Doc and Maya looked at the Chess brothers while Alec looked a bit bored with the whole situation and Isaac was confused. Rook and Bishop slowly got control of themselves again.

The only sounds were those coming from the snail, shouting and gunfire. Eventually Rook looked at Doc and said, "Let's go."

* * *

As his men were hunted down like dogs, Bear could only stare at the young Marine in seething hate. "Don't think you'll get away with this!" He yelled. "You may have been fine with just me. But my men are innocent. Killing them will only make your crime worse!" All around him, Rorick's men were engaged with his own. Most had escaped into the ship, but Winston and a handful of other stayed to slow down pursuers. Winston, like Bear, used no weapons. His fighting style could only be described as boxing. His gentle appearance betrayed a ruthless repertoire of swift movements and deadly jabs. He kept his arms in and danced around his opponents in a flurry of blows, his fists knocking down men twice his size.

"I've committed no crime." He retorted. He wasn't paying any mind to the battle raging around him, confident that his handpicked crew would deter anyone that would get close. Out of nowhere, a malicious smile bloomed on his face. "I'm just subjugating a corrupt Captain and his turncoat crew."

Bear spat at him. "You're too young. Too green. I don't care how quickly you've been climbing up the ladder. I've been around much longer than you and I've made a helluva lot more friends. No one is going to believe that I've turned rogue."

Rorick thought of that for a moment. "You know, you're right. I don't have the standing necessary to make sure you get the punishment you deserve." With a lazy flick of his wrist, he brought his dark blade poised at the fallen Bear. "It'll be much easier to convince them if I just kill you now. And when I tell them you were aiding pirates, who is going to tell me otherwise?"

Bear eyed the sword. "Humph. Superb craftsmanship."

Rorick couldn't help but admire it himself. "It truly is. Strong, unyielding, fit for someone like me. It is like we were made for each other."

Despite his predicament, Bear couldn't help but appraise the young man. "No." He said slowly. "Even someone like me, who doesn't use a weapon, can tell that you and that sword are not a good match." He said. He was trying to keep pressure on his wound, but it was difficult to block out the pain. "In this case, that sword is _greater_ than you are. Believe me when I say a day will come when it turns against you." He eyed the weapon and could see the bloodlust emanating from it. "And it will. Right when your ass is in the fire, it will let you burn."

Rorick sneered at the older man. "You obviously don't know what you are talking about. Probably gone insane from being in this backwater for so long. This is a _Great Grade Sword_. A blade this fine doesn't have any such flaws." He raised it to admire it in the light. "It is my destined sword. You don't know how hard I had to search for it. I deserve a weapon as powerful as I am!"

Rolling over so he could look at the sky, he couldn't help but taunt the young man. If he was going to die, it might as well be while laughing at his killer. "I know the story, of course. The same day you got your precious sword, a famous smith suddenly vanished. There were quite a few Marines who were bristled that their orders were never fulfilled." From beneath him, he could hear more gunfire and screaming. His men were resisting, but the surprise attack had left them at a disadvantage. He just hoped that the ones in Sick Bay would be left alone. They couldn't even fight back.

Seemingly done with basking in his own glow, Rorick brought his attention back to his enemy. "Now…time for justice." He raised his sword and was bringing it down to finish what he started, but he was stopped as someone suddenly shouted.

" **Andersooooon!"**

Before he could so much as turn, he heard a sword unsheathe and a pistol click. His sword moved almost of its own volition to swing him around to deflect two bullets and lock hilts with another sword. And before him stood two people he'd never forget.

Bishop Chess stood a small distance away. He smiled inwardly when he saw the mask, likely hiding the parting gift he had given him on their last encounter. He wasn't concerned about him. If he couldn't handle Rorick then, he wouldn't be able to fight him now.

But then his eyes met Rook's. He was different. He was the one person he would never forgive. "You." He seethed. "What are you doing here!?"

"Shut the hell up!" Rook shouted. With a pushed, he knocked Rorick away and readied his fighting stance. "I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my brother!"

* * *

 **Okay I'm going to apologize. There was supposed to be a battle scene at the end of this chapter, but if I wanted to meet the deadline, I had to put it off until next week. I'm really sorry.**

 **But hopefully this chapter still keeps your interest. So please tell me what you think.**

 **Till next time!**


	14. The Cursed Sword

**Hey folks, just letting you know that there will be no update next weekend. Week off and all that.**

 **On with the story!**

* * *

Doc and Maya were waiting patiently in the operating room. Doc was pacing back in forth in front of the door. He was in his operating outfit and everything was sterilized and ready to go. All they were missing was the patient. The mermaid was watching him with suppressed irritation. She hated it when he started pacing. Maybe it was because she was a mermaid, but she never saw the appeal of walking back and forth like that. But it was his coping mechanism. He always did this when he was waiting do to an operation.

"Worried?" She asked. She knew he was, but talking would help relieve some of the tension surrounding him.

"Of course." He responded. "Our plan is sound. They should be able to do it. But if this really is the same Marine that Rook and Bishop think it is…I just can't expect everything to go as planned."

It didn't happen often. Especially with…witnesses. But Maya had her tender moments, especially when they were alone. With a sigh, she floated over to him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Captain…Doc, we're pirates. We always have to expect that nothing will go our way. It is how we've survived for so long." Then a true oddity happened. She smiled. Not a threatening one she usually threw around, but a warm smile. "You don't like fighting. I know that. Your crew trusts you enough to restrain themselves. But now battle is the only option. So it is your turn to trust your crew."

"It isn't the fighting that worries me. It is what comes after." He looked at his first mate and tried to search for an answer in her eyes. "The brothers are fighting something from their past. If things don't go well…the mental trauma might be too much. Plus there's Alec. He's killed before. In the fray he might do it again. I can't keep him under control when he is on his own." He shook his head. "And to make matters worse, Isaac there's too. He's still healing. I know we need his help, but he just joined the crew and we are already exposing him to danger. And if his wounds open back up his life will be in danger." He began to reach for her hand, to place his own on top of it, but he hesitated. And in the end, he withdrew. "I just wish there was another way."

* * *

As the Chess brothers and Anderson stared each other down, Winston was causing havoc in the ranks. He nimbly weaved his way through the enemy Marines and struck any whose guard was down. But wherever he went, he made sure his back was always to the door. And whenever he saw someone shifting their attention to go below deck, he was quick to pounce and put that idea down with swift action. At one point, a man who had a large torso but scrawny legs tried to make a run for Winston's crewmates. The Vice-Captain immediately leapt into the air and brought his elbow and his knee into a powerful collision with the man's skull. The Marine fell to the ground with blood seeping from his ears. There were others working with Winston, men who were still healthy enough to fight, but none of them could match the second in command in pure ferocity. What once was a gentleman was now a predator. He was sure to glance at Bear whenever he could, but other than that he was focused on keeping the rest of the crew safe.

It was at that point Alec jumped in. With a joyous yell, he bulled his way into the crowd directly in front of their ship. He cut down two Marines with his scimitars and then crossed them above his head. He tensed both his arms and his leg muscles until they were burning and then lunged forward. "Jewel Raid!" With a flourish, he flipped his swords around so they were parallel with his arms. With a whoop of glee, he spun around in a circle. Those who didn't see him coming were immediately mowed down by the onslaught of spinning attacks. Those who managed to turn to see what was happening only saw flashes of light bouncing off his swords before they joined their defeated comrades as bloody messes on the ground.

Alec was cackling madly as he went. He never got to let loose like this with Doc around. But he had lifted his strict no fighting policy so now he could do whatever he wanted! And in his wake he left an open path littered with cut up soldiers bleeding from various wounds. Those unfortunate enough to not go down after one slice were subject to multiple attacks before succumbing to unconsciousness.

In that opening, the injured Isaac ran through as fast as he could. He had to leap over wounded (possibly dead) Marines and duck and dodge attacks from some of the ones who hadn't been felled by Alec. He eventually emerged in the rough circle around Rook, Bishop, and Anderson. To his left he could hear Alec and Winston taunting each other as they pushed the enemies away.

"Why the hell haven't they killed your raggedy ass yes?"

"Hmph. You must be more incompetent than you look if you believe this lot stood a chance against me." Despite the jeering, the vice-captain was relieved at the sudden reinforcement. Even if it was only one pirate. With a firm jab to the solar plexus, he left someone choking and gasping in pain on the floor. "Now if you would be so kind as to _get my captain out of here!_ "

"Don't get your gloves in a twist, we're already on it. And there better as hell be a reward for us to go through all this trouble for some stinking Marines!"

Isaac assumed Alec was talking about him. And sure enough he could see Captain Bear motionless on the ground behind Anderson. That was his goal. He needed to grab the captain and run his ass out of there. And now with Alec guarding the escape route, now seemed a good time to do that. Ignoring his wounds, he B-lined for Bear and roughly grabbed his arm to put it over his shoulder. "You still alive, old man?"

Bear grunted in pain. "Easy there. Yeah I'm still kicking. But why are you lot get here?"

"I don't fucking know." Isaac grumbled. "We got a call on that snail thing that you guys needed help. And it looks like my new Captain is a softy. So here we are." Careful not to make things worse, Isaac brought Bear to his feet. But the moment he let go, the marine immediately collapsed again. "Whoa!" Acting quicker than he should have, he caught Bear before he hit the ground. At the same time, he felt a tearing sensation in his sides while blood started to turn his clothes red. "Shit! I think those were my stitches." He groaned. Then he glared at his charge. "Oi, what the hell was that about?"

Bear was silent for a moment before turning his head away from Isaac and covering it with the hand that wasn't applying pressure to the gash in his chest. "…Get out of here, kid. Ain't nothing you can do to help me."

"The hell are you talking about?" Grabbing him again, he pulled him onto his shoulders. But when he did that, he felt Bear's full weight on him. He wasn't even trying to help. "Look, if we're going to get out of here in one piece, you've got to help me out."

"I can't feel my legs, boy." That made Isaac freeze. He looked at him and saw shame and frustration as his legs dangled uselessly. "He cut me through proper. Doc can sew me shut by I doubt he can get me walking again. So leave me here. Gather up some of my crew. Let the doctor help them instead."

Now Isaac had two choices. He could either do as Bear suggests and leave him here to rot. Or he could go through with the original plan like his Captain ordered. Considering how he just joined this crew…

He hefted Bear to get a better grip and grit his teeth together in an effort to move. "Sorry 'bout ya, but I don't take orders from you, old man. My Captain wants you on his table so that's where you're going to fuckin' go."

Bear was slightly shocked by that resolve. Your average pirate would have cut his losses and ran. Yet here he stayed, even though his internal organs were probably fighting to slide out of that gash in his side. If only he hadn't become an outlaw…Bear could have made him one hell of a Marine.

They had taken maybe two steps back to the ship before Anderson saw them. Tearing his eyes away from Rook, he turned to them and said, "Now I can't have you doing that."

He lunged at them but before he could get close, the Chess brothers made an attack of their own. "You must be feeling cocky." Rook said. "Remember what happened the last time you turned your back to me?" He brought his sword down, intending to finish what he started, but Anderson whirled to meet the blow. Metal clanged as their swords once again met.

From the corner of Anderson's eye, he noticed the pirate ship docked next to them where he saw Isaac carrying Bear across the gangplanks. A smile erupted on his face. An eerily excited smile. "Oh this is too good!" He laughed. With one push of his muscled arms, he managed to send Rook skidding back across the deck. "Pirates! You've become pirates!" The sheer amount of joy he was feeling was borderline madness. "Finally…finally I have an excuse for my revenge!"

* * *

Doc and Maya's tender moment was interrupted as Isaac kicked open the door to the operation room. He was still carrying Bear and behind him was a trail of the wounded man's blood…with some splattering of Isaac's. But luckily since Bear was bleeding so much that his own blood was hardly noticeable.

"Here." He grunted as he practically tossed Bear onto the operation table. He was relieved to be done with that particular task. Bear was heavy. And carrying him around only served to open his wound even further. As they were headed to the ship, some stupid Marine had tried to stop them. Isaac had to literally kick him overboard to get him out of the way, but in doing so he felt his stitches tear even more.

"Easy!" Doc scolded angrily. "He's hurt enough as it is without you tossing him around like a bag of potatoes."

"Ain't a damn thing I could do to him that could make him worse." Isaac sniffed. He was careful to angle his bleeding side away from Doc. He already had one patient, he didn't need another.

"Hey there, Maya." Bear said as the mermaid positioned him correctly on the table. "Don't suppose you could whip up a nice ham for your patient, do you? Be right as rain if I could just sink my teeth into a nice, juicy ham."

"Shut up." Maya said flatly. "You can eat after we're through."

Doc started checking Bear over. But that was interrupted as they heard multiple sets of boots stomping around above deck. "Isaac." He said, not looking away from his patient. "Go guard the door. Don't let anyone in, even if they say they are on our side. They could be the enemy trying to finish off our patient."

"Eh, I don't really like being called a patient, doctor." Bear complained. "Makes me feel all bedridden."

"Sorry, old habit." Doc explained. He was in doctor mode now. He was going through his examination with single minded precision. He examined the wound in his chest before gently pushing him onto his side so he could see the exit wound on his back. "Good to see you still alive, by the way. Your subordinate made it out to be that you were already beyond my help." He shook his head sadly. "That being said, you aren't in good shape. He went right through your spine."

As Doc, Maya, and Bear hashed out the severities of his condition, Isaac left the room and closed the door. Once he was out of sight, he leaned against the door and sighed in relief. Pressing a hand against his side, he tried to stem the bleeding of his broken stitches as he relaxed his body by taking a few deep breaths. He didn't get to relax for long though. It didn't take long for the intruding Marines to find him.

"We're here for Captain Captain Bear. Get out of our way!" One demanded.

Isaac slowly opened his eyes and smirked at them. Without thinking, he reached up and slicked back his hair. What he didn't realize is that he did it with the hand that was covered in blood. So now his normally bright red hair was colored a shade darker by his blood.

"Hey there." He said, popping his knuckles. "Guessing you bastards ain't friendly." He lunged forward and punched one the Marine that had ordered him right in the jaw. "So why don't we get this show on the road!"

* * *

Steady, if not speedy, footwork brought Anderson on top of Rook with his stolen sword raised. "Oh how I've dreamed of what I would do to you after I found you." He brought it down with enough weight that Rook had to leap to the side to avoid it. The resulting impact with the deck created a crack that splintered across the ship.

Looking at the damage that one strike caused, Rook, for the first time, brought his eyes to the sword instead of the wielder. Throughout the entire altercation, he had forced himself not to look at it. Even now he refused to believe that it was Anderson that wielded it. And if he was being honest…he was scared of what he'd see. And he was right to be scared. A blade as black as night, slim in a katana style. The guard was painted silver with a matching cloth wrapped around the hilt. There was black embroidery around the cloth in the design of a fierce beast with fangs and claws and scornful eyes. But the thing that truly made his heart sink, what reviled him above all else, was the aura. He had always worried that this would happen. Every smith worth his steel knew the tales. With every great sword, there was a risk. He had his worries after the incident…but now his fears had come to fruition. A bloodthirsty aura that hungered for blood. It was practically alive with malic and hate, writhing around the blade as if it were reaching out to choke the life out of the closest living thing.

"My sword…" He choked.

But Anderson wasn't going to give him enough to think. He charged forward, but was forced to take a jump back as Bishop shot the ground in front of him. The younger brother didn't say a word. He didn't taunt, yell, scream, or even speak about revenge. He just silently stared at Anderson with his pistols raised.

The two made eye contact for maybe a moment before the Marine's eyes flickered back to Rook. And in that moment, Bishop unloaded his clips. He knew that wasn't enough to overcome him. And sure enough Anderson simply jumped out of the way and used his sword to deflect any bullets that came close. But that wasn't the point of the attack. While he was busy dealing with Bishop, Rook charged forward poised to run him through. But Anderson sent him away with a surprise backhand that caught the pirate off guard.

"Did you think you could stop me? You didn't stand a chance the last time we fought. And this time I've got a powerful sword at my command!" He taunted. With another swipe, he and Rook clashed once again. But this time it wasn't as even. He had caught the younger man off balance and was pushing him down. "You don't know the trouble I've gone through because of you." He sneered. "Even though you _unjustly_ attacked me, I was ordered not to kill you. As a Marine I had to give you a proper trial." He said 'trial' like it was some kind of joke. "But now…now you are a pirate! Which means I can kill you without a single person batting an eye."

Rook's arms were shaking from the weight of his opponent coming down on him. Anderson had nothing in terms of skill, but his pure brute strength was practically overpowering.

But he had one distinct advantage. He wasn't alone.

"Hide Hide Stowaway."

Bishop was suddenly behind him and shot him in the back. Anderson screamed as blood erupted from the wound. He looked back with wide eyes. "Where did you come from?" Last he had seen, Bishop was in front of him. There was no way he could have gotten around without him noticing. Then he noticed that his torso was protruding from the ground, the lower half of his body nowhere to be seen. It was then that he remembered something. When he had first encountered the brothers to get his sword, he had not seen Bishop in forge when he was talking with Rook. But when he started attacking the forge, there he was, appearing out of nowhere.

"Devil fruit eater!" He snarled. But with devil powers or not, he still wasn't going to let these two overcome him. Blocking out his pain, he grabbed Bishop by the front of his shirt and tore him out of his hiding spot before tossing him to the ground at his feet. Rook moved to get between them, but in his haste he couldn't bring up his guard fast enough. With one mighty swing, Anderson sliced into his shoulder and with enough force to send him tumbling back.

With Rook at a comfortable distance, Anderson pointed his sword directly at Bishop, though he stared at Rook with a malicious grin. "This is what happens when you don't listen to your betters."

The two brothers were suddenly shot back to that day. He had said those same words before permanently scarring Bishop with molten steel. In a fit of sudden fear, Bishop once again found himself helpless beneath this towering man. He kept trying to sink into the floor but he was so scared that his powers weren't working.

That made something snap inside Rook. With a roar of fury, he launched himself at his enemy just as he was about to run Bishop through. "Stay away from my brother!" He screamed. He didn't care about himself at all. He got one attack in, across Anderson's right arm. But the next attack was met with a parry. "I'm going to use your bones to heat my forge!" He shouted.

"Once I cut you down, you won't be talking so boldly." Anderson retorted. "The pain you put me through…the agonizing humiliation of being attacked from behind! I was a laughing stock! But now…now that I have _my_ sword I will never be beaten again!"

" _Your_ sword!?" Now that they were shouting, everything came gushing out. The emotions he tempered and kept suppressed would not be stopped now. "I _made_ that sword. You _stole_ it. Never mind a Marine, you're nothing but a common thief!" The adrenaline and anger kept pushing Rook forward. While earlier he had been stopped with just a single shove, now he changed the angle of his sword so that all the weight Anderson was throwing behind his strikes caused him to stumble forward. And while the Marine caught himself soon enough to block the next attack, he quickly found himself on the defensive. With every attack, Rook pushed him farther and farther back, away from Bishop who was still too stunned to move.

"You aren't a swordsman, you're a hack!" Rook pressed. "You do nothing but rely on brute strength and bravado. You're so unskilled that you can't even tell that the sword you're using is _cursed_!" Even now he could feel the sword trying to reach him, trying to kill the very soul that created it. A day would come when it would betray Anderson in order to find a new, better master.

But that only seemed to make Anderson angrier. "No! This sword was _made_ for me. It doesn't have any sort of imperfections like that!" He tensed all of his muscles to unleash an attack that would devastate Rook. But then his luck ran out. All this fighting plus the bullet wound that the wound Rook had given him on his back started to act up. His back muscles started to spasm. "No! No not now!" He groaned through gritted teeth. His body froze as pain racked through his body.

His men (the ones who were succumbing to Winston and Alec's attacks) recognized those symptoms immediately. "Quickly, fall back!" One of them shouted. "The Captain's in trouble!"

Anderson's crew acted as one collective unit. They immediately turned away from their enemies and gathered around Anderson in a phalanx. Those closest to Rook too out their swords and guns and pointed them at him so that he was faced with a wall of weaponry.

"Retreat!" Two men hefted Anderson up with their shoulders and the phalanx started slowly moving back to their ship. Winston, Alec, and those few remaining fighters allowed their adversaries to leave unobstructed, but Rook ran to his brother.

"Bishop, you need to stop them. Shoot him!"

The younger brother just watched his retreating enemy and then at those already fallen. There were bodies everywhere, some breathing. Some weren't. The toll for this entire ordeal was already so high.

He shook his head. "No. Let them leave, brother." He said softly. "Our revenge is aimed at Rorick, not the men working beneath him." When Rook looked ready to argue, Bishop stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. "Look around. So many injured. So many dead. Continued fighting will only bring more to the count."

* * *

Overhead, Isaac heard a bunch of people running away. The men in front of him must have heard it too. Several of them were unconscious, including two that Isaac was currently using as a seat. After knocking them out, he piled them on top of each other and used them as a stool in between fights. Because after the first three knock outs, the others seem hesitant to fight him. Fortunately for him, Doc's room was small enough that the Marines couldn't use their weapons as freely as they liked.

As they heard the calls for retreat, the men started to step back, but a few glanced at their fallen comrades. Isaac scoffed at them, stood up, and kicked his impromptu stools at them. "Get your asses out of here." He said with an air of finality.

The Marines quickly gathered up their crewmates before hightailing it out of there. Isaac laughed maliciously as they left, but that laughter soon devolved into a coughing fit. He leaned against the door again and slid down it until he was sitting on the floor. He spat out some blood from his mouth and breathed raggedly as he put pressure back on his open wound.

"Shit." He gasped. "Doc is gonna be pissed."

* * *

Doc was sitting in a sun chair with a newspaper in his lap. He had his hat off, sitting next to him on the deck so that his hair could freely sway with the wind. The sun was shining and the breeze was pleasant. Seagulls called to each other above the ship. Yet despite this, he had a very contemplative and morose look on his face. The front page of the paper had Bear's face on it.

 _CELEBRATED MARINE CAPTAIN RETIRES DUE TO INJURY_

 _After 30 years of service, Marine Captain Captain Bear was relieved of duty today after a hearing covering an altercation two months prior. Reports say that the captain and his crew were attacked by an unidentified group of pirates, resulting in 23 deaths and 38 wounded. The captain himself suffered a severe spinal injury that has left him paralyzed from the waist down. Bear refused to answer any questions but sources say he is taking up a position as an instructor for Marine recruits. This marks the beginning of a new era where new up and coming Marines will be led by the hand of…_

The rest of the article trailed off in a flurry of Navy support propaganda and Doc quickly lost interest. Isaac came down from the crow's nest to see what had his Captain looking so down. He took one look at the newspaper and scrunched his nose in distaste. "You gotta stop reading that shit, Cap. When was the last time the Navy told people the truth?"

Doc shook his head. "Oh that isn't what bothers me. As a pirate you quickly learn that the Navy never reports anything that could make it look bad. So naturally, they'll blame pirates. But notice there's no sign anywhere about A Marine Inspector getting demoted."

Isaac shrugged. "So? The hell would they report something that just makes them look bad?"

Doc shook his head again. "But reporters are notorious for getting that kind of information. Whenever there is a sudden change in the power structure, there is usually a paper that finds out about it."

Isaac tried thinking about that. "So…that bastard got away with it?" He asked in confusion. And by bastard he meant Anderson. They avoided saying his name on the ship. Every time they did, Rook would go sulk in his forge for the rest of the day. And since they were tired of seeing that, they just stopped talking about him.

"No. Even if he was best friends with the Fleet Admiral, he would suffer some sort of consequence. But he probably did have friends in high places. If he had been expelled from their ranks, which is what usually happens in cases like this, there _would_ have been a report on it. The fact that there isn't says that he was, at most, demoted from Marine Inspector."

"So he kills over twenty people and all he gets is a demotion? What kind of shit is that?"

"I'm not sure. But I can tell you one thing. We haven't seen the last of Anderson. And it is only a matter of time before we meet this friend-in-high-places he has as well." He looked out at the horizon of the peaceful sea. "I just hope we're ready when that hammer comes down on top of us."

* * *

 **There you have it folks! Double the usual length and chalk full of that drama and action we all love. But again, please tell me what you think. If I'm not doing something right or if you have suggestions for improving things, please let me know.**

 **Till next time, folks!**


	15. Intermission - Quest for the Fridge!

**And we're back. And this chapter is going to be a little special. Throughout this series, I will occasionally throw in something I like to call an "Intermission Chapter". These will be little one shot chapters that don't have any sort of story arc attached to them. They are just a fun little scenario. They are also short and enjoyable to write.**

 **So without further ado, on with the story!**

* * *

Four men were huddled together in their room aboard their ship, their hammocks unoccupied, odd considering it was in the dead of night. There was a single lamp lit that illuminated their faces and nothing else.

They had scowls and frustration on their faces. The first among them was Rook. He leaned forward and said in a hushed, conspiratorial tone, "This is Codename: Squad Leader. Do we have a headcount?"

Bishop leaned into the light. Of the three, he had remained the most hidden, preferring to stick to the darkness. "Codename: Shadowman reporting in."

Next was Doc. He wasn't wearing his hat or lab coat like he usually did. All he had on were his red pants and white shirt. "Codename: Medic reporting in."

They were suddenly interrupted by Isaac. "Why do you get to be the leader!?" He exclaimed, pointing at Rook. He tried to keep his voice low, but he still managed to shout. It had been bothering him why Rook was the boss ever since the meeting started.

"Shh!" The other three warned him. They didn't want to be overheard. If their mission was found out…they didn't want to consider the consequences.

"Sorry." Isaac mumbled. He knew what was at stake and felt a little bad for getting loud. "But why are you leader? I think I should be Squad Leader!"

"No!" Rook retorted. "I'm already Squad Leader."

"Come on, I would be a badass leader!"

"Fine!" Rook shouted at him in irritation. He just wanted to get him to shut up at this point. "You can be…" he glanced at Isaac's red locks. "Red Leader."

Isaac liked the sound of that. He sat back mollified with a triumphant look on his face. "Sweet! Codename: Red Leader reporting in."

Rook nodded. Now that that was out of the way, they could get the meeting really started. "Gentlemen, we all know why we are here." He made a fist and held it in the air with a sorrowful face. "We're hungry!"

The other three pumped their own fists with him and cheered him on. They were all starving. But they had forgotten to keep quiet and accidentally woke up Alec, who was sleeping in his hammock in the corner of the room. "Hey, some of us are trying to sleep here!"

Doc was the one to turn around with a slightly ashamed look. "Sorry, Alec. We'll keep quiet from now on."

Alec just rolled over and put his pillow over his head to try and drown them out. "Dumbasses."

"Actually, why the hell are you working with us, Doc? Maya's always like, nice and stuff around you. Didn't you get to eat dinner?" He was referring to the fact that he, Rook, and Bishop had been denied dinner that night by their hot tempered mermaid. Rook and Isaac had gotten into a fistfight and accidentally broke a barrel filled with foodstuff. She blamed Bishop too for not stopping it even though he could have.

Doc was silent for a moment. "It's because…" The other three leaned in close, the suspense rising with each passing second. Then they realized there was an actual tear falling from his eye. "It's because she cooked curry last night and she didn't save any for me!"

Isaac blanched while Rook and Bishop each grabbed one of their Captain's shoulders in empathy. Curry was Doc's favorite dish and Maya made a _mean_ curry. They could understand why he would be upset that none was saved for him while he was on watch duty.

Rook got serious as Doc wiped his eyes dry. "We've all incurred Maya's wrath. Time and time again we've starved the night through after she got upset. But no more! Tonight we change all that. Tonight, we dine as kings!"

"Yay!" The three shouted again. Alec growled before they all whispered, "Sorry!"

Once Alec was acceptably mollified, Rook looked at each of his compatriots. "We all know the roles we have to play?" He held up a mini Transponder Snail. His was red with a black shell. In turn the others pulled out their own, grey and white for Bishop, white and yellow for Doc, and green and red for Isaac.

They nodded at each other before saying, "Break!"

* * *

Rook, Doc, and Isaac were sneaking through the hall that lead to the kitchen. They had just reached the kitchen door when Rook's mini Transponder Snail went off with a quiet "Purpurpurpuru." He pulled it out to see that the snail was wearing a black mask in a semblance of Rook. He answered it with a "Katcha."

"This is Shadowman. Iron Maiden remains unaware of the plan." Iron Maiden was the codename used when referring to Maya.

Rook nodded. "Thanks, Shadowman. Let us know if there are any changes. We're continuing towards the target."

"Roger."

Using his powers, Bishop could sneak into Maya's room and spy on her without waking her up. But he did have to surface in order to give them reports. They had found out that when he was hiding in his hiding spot, the Transponder Snails couldn't connect.

Rook turned to Isaac. "You stand guard here. If Iron Maiden finds us out, you're our main line of defense while we hide the loot."

Isaac nodded and punched a fist into his hand. They all hoped it wouldn't come to that, but Isaac wasn't going to hold back if it did.

The actual door was the first challenge they needed to overcome. Maya had rigged it to make this horrible screeching noise when it opened. If someone was going to sneak a midnight snack, she would hear it and come to deal with whoever decided to test her wrath. But prepared for this, Doc had practiced until he found a way to open it silently. And only his delicate touch was able to do it. But he was only able to open it enough for them to squeeze passed. If he tried to open it anymore, it would squeak. Once it was open, Rook sucked in to make himself as thin as possible so that he wouldn't risk bumping into the door on accident. Doc went through next, not needing to suck in because he didn't have as much muscle as Rook did.

Once inside, they scanned the dark kitchen for any traps their enemy might have laid. Yet to their perceptive eyes, the whole place seemed barren of even a mouse trap. Still not wanting to take any risks, they stepped softly and slowly, muscle tense in case anything was set off.

Yet they reached the fridge without even the smallest of incidents. They were suspicious. Very suspicious. They had sweat pouring down their faces as they reached for the fridge. They half expected it to be locked, yet it opened without even a struggle. "This is it!" Rook said with barely concealed excitement. Their eyes were shining as the door slowly opened. By their reactions, you would think they were being showered in divine light. The fridge was loaded. Bacon and sausage, fruits and vegetables, snacks and sweets, everything they could ever want. They reached out to take their well-deserved rewards.

But then Doc's mini Transponder Snail went off. Again it wore the mask resembling Bishop's. Their blood went cold as Doc answered it and Bishop said a single word. "Abort!"

Then they heard something that made them realize they were doomed. From the other side of the door, Isaac let out a battle cry as he charged towards something. His cry was cut short as he made a sound that could only be described as a yelp. Then there was silence.

The door to the kitchen slowly swung open, making the screeching noise as it did. And on the other side of the threshold was a very angry Maya. She was in the calm stage of anger, the calculating kind. Behind her, they saw Isaac laid out on the floor, blood seeping onto the floor.

Rook and Doc backed away in fear as Maya slowly floated towards them. "P-Please have mercy!" Rook pleaded, finding his voice again.

Doc nodded his head vigorously in agreement. "It was all in good f-f-f-fun! No harm done or anything…" He realized that his begging was getting him nowhere as Maya gripped his head with her hand and squeezed with an iron grip that made him yell and squirm in pain. Rook took that moment to try and escape, but Maya saw that coming. She grabbed on to him in a similar manner and squeezed twice as hard to give him twice as much pain.

"This is what happens when you try to steal food behind my back." She said coldly.

"We're sorry!" They yelled in pain, trying to escape.

But that only served to make her increase the pressure twice as much. The night echoed with their pain filled cries.

* * *

Alec was grumbling angrily as he hefted Doc over one shoulder and dragged Rook and Isaac across the ground. He had bags under his eyes. "Stupid dumbasses, waking me up to deal with their shit." He mumbled.

Maya watched them go until she heard their door open and close again. Only then did she smirk and reach into the still open refrigerator. She pulled out a juicy, succulent looking red fruit. She tossed it up and down in her hand before dropping it. "Nice doing business with you…'Shadowman'."

A single arm rose out of the ground to catch the fruit, along with a soft chuckle as Bishop withdrew his prize back into his hiding spot.

* * *

 **There you go! Short and sweet, like I said. But I like writing these. They make me laugh.**

 **But for those of you who aren't tickled to death by this kind of thing, don't worry. I only plan on having about three or four of these.**

 **Till next time!**


	16. The Town of Extravagance

**And we're back, folks. I don't really have anything to say so let's just get on with the story!**

* * *

"So…why am I doing this again?"

Rook grinned at Isaac as they both unloaded weapon crates onto the beach. They had spent more time than normal at sea, practically two weeks without sight of land. This meant two things. One, they were all stir crazy and starving. They were pirates, yeah, but that didn't mean they enjoyed being stuck on the ship for large periods of time. They ran out of food after a week so they only got to eat what they managed to fish up. Which wasn't much. Secondly, it meant that Rook had a lot of time with his forge. He had managed to double the normal amount of weaponry he usually created. Which hopefully meant a huge amount of revenue for selling them.

"Because I need someone to help me with the shop and you pulled the short straw."

Isaac practically threw the crate on the ground. "I've pulled the short straw three goddamn times in a row!" He shouted. "Let someone else have a turn!"

"Sorry, but them's the rules!" Rook shouted back. Then he grabbed him roughly and pulled him close to his face. "And easy on the merchandise." He seethed. "Either put them down gently or I'll _gently_ send you to your grave."

"Like you could, you third rate smith." Isaac retorted as he shoved Rook away.

And Rook didn't even retaliate at first. He was just too stunned by the words that came out of Isaac's mouth. "Who are you calling third rate!" He cried. "I've created legendary weapons that kings would give their entire coffers for! One of my blades could kill you before you even knew you were dead!"

"Oh yeah!?"

"Yeah!"

From aboard the ship, Maya was rubbing her temples as she fought off the onset of a migraine. "Oh god their arguing again. If I have to listen to this one more time, my head is going to explode."

Even Doc looked a little tired out. Ever since Isaac joined the crew, he and Rook have been butting heads. At one point, they decided to have a fight, a contest to see which of them was stronger. It ended in a draw with both of them put under Doc's care for three days. Unfortunately, that only seemed to add fuel to the fire. Even Bishop has avoided hiding in Rook's shadow when Isaac was around, simply to avoid the annoying arguments.

Case and point, Bishop was waiting patiently by the gangplank for Doc. He, Doc, Rook, and Isaac would all be going into town together while Maya and Alec stayed behind on the ship. Usually, Alec would be putting up a stink about being stuck aboard. But he drank through quite a few bottles of booze the previous night in hopes that if he drank enough alcohol, he would pass out and not be woken up by Rook and Isaac's quibbling. And while he did indeed pass out (with a slight fear of alcohol poisoning on Doc's part), now he was nursing a monster of a hangover.

Once Rook and Isaac were suited up with their wares, the four of them set of for the nearby town. This island didn't have much in ways of hills so they couldn't hide their ship anywhere. Instead, they were hoping that there wasn't much of a Marine presence here.

The town looked normal from a distance, but as they got closer they noticed something…strange.

Isaac was the first one to stop and scratch his head. "Anybody else think this place ain't right?"

"Yeah…" Rook responded. The thought of fighting his crewmate fled his mind as he looked around. There was definitely something odd about this town. It had a layout like a normal town. But the buildings didn't fit. Instead of cozy houses and cottages, they were surrounded on all sides by estates and castles and mansions. Many of them were crammed together, like normal houses had been there, but they had been torn down and mansions were built within the available land. So many large buildings were built so close together that the resulting image was like the town was just one giant building, with only small gaps separating each part.

Bishop eyed what he could assume was once an alleyway. Even a mouse would have a hard time fitting through the remaining space as a house made of marble and one made of pure silver loomed on either side. He was beginning to think this wasn't a normal town. It was like each person had tried to make their home bigger and grander than the one before them. But what kind of people could afford to do that?

"What the hell? This place home to like, the super-rich?" Isaac asked aloud.

Then they noticed something that was in stark contrast to that question. A dirty, ugly looking man walked passed with the most pleased expression on his face. His clothes were tattered and unclean. He had beady eyes and a lopsided mouth. His large girth and questionable odor, along with his large, scrunched up nose, would make even the ugliest of pigs proud of its beauty. But what truly boggled the mind was the fact that this boar of a man had a busty, blonde, gorgeous woman on each of his arms. One kept kissing his face while the other stayed nuzzled in his neck lovingly. Neither seemed to care or notice his body odor or horrible looks even though their beautiful dresses were probably being dirtied just from being in contact with the man.

They watched them saunter by, completely frozen just by how bizarre the scene was. Then man and his lovely companions wandered over to a small, wooden shack that they had missed when they were distracted by the grandeur of the surrounding properties. There were holes in the roof and there wasn't any glass in the windows. It was also only large enough for just one room, yet the three walked in and slammed the door behind them. And when they did, one of the few remaining shingles on the roof fell off.

"What…the hell…was that." Isaac asked, completely confused. "There's no _way_ those chicks were into that guy. A cow wouldn't be into him!"

Doc blinked a few times before putting a calming hand on the former bandit. "Now, now. Don't judge anyone here. The laws and customs of this island might just be a little…different than what we're used to." With that, he led them deeper into the town, hoping to find a plaza or a merchant street. As they searched, they marveled at some of properties they passed. Some had homes made out of precious gems and metals. Others had menageries of exotic animals and plants. They even saw one property that had a tree that grew Beri instead of leaves! They were collectively glad that Alec was too hungover to be there. They would literally have to tackle him every couple of feet to keep him from stealing everything in sight.

But the further they got into town, if you could call a gathering of mansions a town, things started to appear more normal. Ordinary houses and ordinary people became more apparent. But something still felt…off. The citizens were either filthy rich…or dirt poor. While some properties looked normal, on closer inspection, were run down and in various stages of disrepair. Healthy, normal looking people, while happy, were dirty and haggard looking. In fact, no matter who they were, poor or rich, they all had blissful looks on their faces.

"Oh my, oh my. What do we have heeeere?"

Their observations were cut short as they found their path blocked by the tackiest, most extravagant man they had ever seen. His skin was a light brown, like perfectly made pancakes. There was the faintest whisper of a mustache on his lip and a much bolder goatee. He held a solid gold cane in one hand, the top capped with a large red ruby. His clothes followed a similar color scheme. His black hair was partially covered with a glimmering crown with stripes of red and gold winding around it. It was also topped with a ruby. His red, sleek pants were embroidered with gold and shiny tassels hanging by his ankles. His jacket was the same, with a gold shirt underneath. He wore yellow sunglasses to cover his eyes and he wore gold platform shoes that made him a few inches taller than Doc and his crew, impressive considering Doc's height.

"Um… pardon, but were you talking to us?" Doc asked hesitantly.

"Oh my, oh my. Why yes I waaaaas." The lavished man replied. He took a few steps forward, using his expensive cane to balance himself. "It isn't often we get travelers. What is your business heeeeeere?"

"Oh! Well I'm a traveling doctor." Doc explained, lifting his had in greeting. "And these are my crewmates Rook, Bishop, and Isaac. Rook is a blacksmith looking to sell his wares."

"Oh my, oh my!" The man exclaimed. "You've taken the time to introduce yourselves, yet here I am standing like the common raaaabble! My name is R~udeus!" He rolled the 'r' in his name. "I am a collector of wealth!" He eyed the containers that Rook and Isaac were carrying. "And I must say I am curious to what travelers like you would have offeeeeer."

That was all the invitation Rook needed. In the blink of an eye he unloaded all of his wares in front of Rudeus. "Well Mr. Rudeus, I have only the finest weapons for sale today!" He said in a business like tone. "Swords, axes, spears, and daggers. If you have to fight, one of my children here will get you through it unscathed."

"Oh my, oh my! I would never do something so barbaaaaric!" Rudeus said in disgust. However he didn't recoil, he simply gazed at Rook and his weapons with the slightest amount of superiority…along with something all but Bishop missed, distrust. The look vanished as fast as it came before he said, "But now that I think on it, some of my neighbors have been eyeing my estate quite covetously lately. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to get my guards some better weapooooons?" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a golden coin purse. "Besides, I would hate for any of my neighbors to acquire these before I dooooo." He dropped a large wad of bills into Rook's hand before clapping his hands together twice. On the second clap, several men appeared at his side and gathered up all the weapons Rook had for sale and retreated down the street with Rudeus at their head. "Keep the chaaaange!" He called to them as he left.

Isaac and Doc were immediately on either side of him looking at the money. "So how much did he just give you? If he ripped us off we'll just hunt his ass down and wring some more out of him. Can't be too hard considering how fucking shiny it is.

Rook was motionless as he stared at the bills. "W-we better not chase after him. Or he might find out that he just paid ten times the worth of those weapons." There was a beat of silence before he and Isaac were up dancing and shouting, "We're freaking rich! The food and drink is on us tonight!" Doc just smiled as they celebrated. He was happy for them, for all of them really since this meant they weren't going to go hungry for a while. But he didn't feel that the middle of the street was the proper place for these kinds of antics.

The only one not happy was Bishop. He was watching Rudeus and his entourage though his mask in silence. There was something not right about the way he had looked at Rook. Something that crawled under his skin. He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to consider it. Even though Rook and Isaac were done, he and Doc still had to make their rounds.

"Why don't we come with you?" Rook volunteered. In a fit of camaraderie, he and Isaac were arm-in-arm with large, excited smiles. "We'll even buy lunch. What do you say?" To emphasize, he searched around for a store or something and found a fruit vendor not far away. He ran over to it and waved them over. "Come on! My treat!" He grabbed an apple and was about to take a bite when he saw the price tag. "What!?" He shouted. "T-Ten thousand beri for an _apple_?"

The vendor snatched the apple out of his hands in irritation and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Hey, if you can't afford my prices then get out of here!" He shouted.

To keep from causing a scene, Bishop and Doc grabbed him by his shoulders and hauled him away, too stunned to put up a resistance. When he came to, he grabbed his head in frustration. "What the hell was that? Who has so much money that they are willing to blow that much on a freaking fruit!?"

Doc gently motioned him to lower his voice. Several surrounding people looked in their direction at the outburst and he waved them a small apology before returning to Rook. "Well the people here seem to have a lot of income so…"

He was cut off by an enraged Rook. "I don't care how rich they are! Who has so much money that they can blow that much on one apple?"

His question went unanswered as a commotion down the street caught their attention. "You leech! We come to you for help and this is how you repay us?" An old woman yelled scornfully. She was standing in the doorway of a hospital. It seemed odd to find something so ordinary in this town of extravagance. She didn't wear any sort of expensive clothing, just a green long sleeved shirt and a brown skirt that reached the grown. And over those she wore a white apron that, while old, was well washed. There were wrinkles covering her aged face and hands, which were the only parts of her skin showing. Her grey hair was hidden beneath a white handkerchief and she was hunched over. In this town of economic extremes, she stood out for her normalcy.

"Please understand." A man replied. He wore a doctor's lab coat and his voice was a mixture of worry and pleading. "I can't keep up with my competitors. If I don't get another one-."

He was cut off as the old woman took her bag and hit him over the head with it. "You greedy scoundrel!" She shrilled, followed by more hits from her purse. The doctor put up his arms to protect his head, but he wasn't being hurt judging by how frail the old woman looked. "You're supposed to be a doctor. You're meant to help people not take them for all their worth!"

That seemed to irritate the doctor. "Well I'm sorry, but unless you change your mind, our services _won't_ be available to you." And with that he slammed his door on the poor woman's face.

She staggered back and looked around to see everyone staring at her. That only threw timber on the fire because she raised her fist and shook it at them all. "Don't you look at me with your greedy eyes! You should all be ashamed!"

That had a few different reactions around the crowd. A few seemed indignant at her accusations and turned away from her with a sniff. Those were mostly the ones dressed richly. Others looked ashamed and averted their eyes from hers, but didn't turn away. That was the vast majority. Rich and poor, it seemed like most of the town couldn't meet her gaze.

That is except for Doc. He stepped forward, aware of her scornful gaze, and raised his hat in greeting. "Hello, madam." He said soothingly. "I'm not sure what is going on, but maybe I can help." He extended a hand to her. "I am Doctor Woodall. Is there something I can do for you?"

The woman didn't take his hand. She stared at Doc with mistrust and narrowed her eyes. "Who are you? I've visited every doctor on this god forsaken island but I've never heard nor met you before."

"Ah, I'm a traveling doctor, actually." Explained with a friendly smile as he lowered his hand. He wasn't bothered he was often viewed suspiciously. There aren't that many traveling doctors after all. "My friends and I just arrive on this island to get supplies."

"Hmph." The woman grunted, eyeing Bishop and the others. "If its supplies you want, you'll just have to make due and try to reach the next island without them. Pirates like you won't be able to afford anything here."

They were shocked that she knew what they were and they all went stiff with caution. The old woman noticed and rolled her eyes. "Don't get your knickers in a twist. I know your kind when I see them, but so long as you don't bother me and mine, I won't go turning you in." She shook her head. "Not much good it would do, anyway. No Marines to turn you into here."

They slowly relaxed, although Bishop still remained on his guard. He was glancing around with his good eye, trying to see if there was anyone that overheard their conversation. But whoever this crone was, she seemed to intimidate the locals because they had all scattered.

She suddenly sagged. "Never trust a pirate." She muttered. "But it don't seem like I have much of a choice." Straightening her back, she started down the road. "Follow me then. Hope you don't mind exercise. We've got a bit of a walk."

Doc smiled warmly and nodded for her to lead the way. "Don't worry about us. But if you get tired, let us know. We can stop for a break whenever you need."

"Heh. You young ones are a hundred years too early to think you'll need to stop on my account. Now less talking, more walking."

Doc just shrugged as they all followed her. Her pace was a bit slower than theirs, so it took longer than usual. They left town and walked for over an hour. And true to her word, the old woman didn't stop once.

But as they left, they didn't notice Rudeus and his cronies watching as the left, his yellow sunglasses gleaming in the sunlight and a frown on his lips. "Oh my, oh my. This won't do at aaaaaall." He turned to one of his men. "Go gather the others. We need to go visit an old friiiiend."

* * *

After so long, this cityscape faded and they found themselves at a humble hut surrounded by fields of flowers. Wherever they looked, they saw beautiful blooms in every shade and color. The cottage itself was modest, four rooms at most. But there were flowers woven all over it in decoration. There was a line for laundry and a wash bin as well as a variety of pots filled with different flowers and herbs.

She opened the door and then pointed at Bishop, Rook, and Isaac. "You three wait out here. Only the doctor may enter."

They raised their eyebrows, but didn't argue. She was a client after all.

Doc went inside. The furnishings were sparse, a single couch and a chair in front of a fireplace. The rest of the living room was occupied by potted plants. He noticed that most of them had medical properties.

She led him past all that and into the bedroom. There he found a small girl lying on a bed. Her breathing was labored and a fever colored her brow red. The blankets over her were coated in sweat and a small amount of blood could be seen on the pillow. The girl herself had brown skin and her brown hair was tied back in a small tail. She couldn't be older than eight at the most.

"Who is this?" Doc asked softly.

The old woman sat on a stool next to the bed and held the girl's hand between her own. "This is my granddaughter, Tilly. And she's very sick."

* * *

 **That is that. Hope you all liked it. And please let me know what you think.**

 **See you next time!**


	17. Tilly

**I'm so sorry everyone. Due to certain circumstances, I've been too busy running hither and yon to write anything. I know it isn't much of an apology but I'm still sorry. Speaking of which, with this upcoming weekend being Easter, I'm required to go visit my family which will tax my time even more. So for this chapter and the next, I'll be posting on weekdays when I have some free time from school.**

 **Now then, enough of my groveling. ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

Tilly's condition…disturbed Doc. He had pulled away the sweat soaked blanket so he could look more closely at her small frame. It wasn't as though he'd had any time to really check her out. But he had always been this way. The fact that she was a child…children should be happy and running around, not bedridden and coughing up blood.

But he had to push that away. If he let the fact that she was a child shroud his mind, he wouldn't be able to help her. He went over the normal routine, getting himself into the groove of things. Nothing looked good. Her pulse was fast, dangerously so, which matched her rapid breaths. Her temperature was so high that he was surprised she was even still alive. He pushed her nightgown up to see a red, enflamed scrape on her knee. Children got scraped like that all the time playing outside. But this one had swollen to double the normal size.

"How long has she been like this?" He asked urgently.

The old woman didn't even need to think about it. "Four days now. It all started when she scraped her knee. We put some ointment on it, but by the next day, it was already puffed up the size of my fist." She stroked her granddaughter's hand. "I sell herbs to the folks in town. Many of the local doctors were my clients." She shook her head. "But I can only gather the herbs. I'm afraid I don't know much about medicine. She took a turn for the worst two days ago so I went into town looking for help. But…well you saw how I was treated today."

Doc nodded. He was also really curious as to why she had the door slammed on her face, as well as to why the townsfolk seemed so tense around her. But he had better things to focus on. "This is bad. Her scrape got infected. And if it has gotten this bad, it might have spread to become a blood infection." He took out his Mini Transponder Snail and called Maya. "It's me. Listen, I have a critical patient with sepsis." Standing up, he headed outside while pulling paper and a pen out of his bag. His three crewmates straightened as they heard the authority in his voice. "I'm sending Bishop back to pick you up with a list of supplies. Leave Alec to guard the ship, he won't be much help with a hangover anyway. And prepare an oxygen tank. The infection looks bad and I don't want to take any chances."

Maya didn't need to say anything. She just listened attentively. Like the others, she knew that tone in his voice. He may be a pushover on an ordinary basis, but when there was a life on the line, he was entirely different person. Right now he wasn't just their friend. He was their Captain.

He handed Bishop the list. "Hurry back. With an infection this bad, we don't have any time to lose. But avoid the town on the way back. I don't trust rich people to contain themselves if they caught sight of a mermaid."

Isaac raised an eyebrow. "Then why send Bishop? I can run much faster than he can."

Bishop didn't even bother listening. He took off towards town at a sprint. Rook sat down on an overturned pot. "Because Bishop can just hide the medical supplies in his shadow or something. That way they won't be slowed down by all the weight. Have you ever tried carrying an oxygen tank? Those things are pretty heavy."

Isaac looked confused. "Wait. He can travel around hiding spots right? Why doesn't he just sink into the ground like he likes to do and go that way?"

Rook shook his head as Doc went inside to keep an eye on Tilly. "You haven't been inside one of his hiding spots yet. It's…hard to describe. While he's hiding, everything is pitch black except for little windows into the outside world. If he tries to hide inside something too big, he'll get lost. The most he can do is the ship. If he tries anything bigger, he gets hopelessly lost."

Isaac just scratched his head in a mix of confusion and frustration. "Frickin' devil fruit powers. Why are they so damn confusing?"

"They're not. You're just an idiot."

"The hell did you call me!?"

"I called you an idiot you dumbass!"

"Gah! Say that one more time and beat the piss out of you!"

That was when Doc lost his temper. The front door slammed open with Doc glaring at them. "Quiet!" He commanded. "There is a little girl in there who needs help. Do you really think arguing and starting a fight is going to help her?"

Rook and Isaac were taken aback by their normally pacifistic captain's outburst. The anger in his eyes was something they had never seen before. And in that gaze all they could do was take a step back and lower their gaze.

"…Sorry." They muttered in apology.

Doc nodded at them, placated, then went back inside, leaving his abashed crewmates behind. He walked back to the bed and sat on a stool next to Tilly. "I'm sorry about them." He said to the grandmother. "I may be a doctor, but they are still pirates. They get riled pretty easily.

"Hmph. So long as they keep it outside." She replied. Then she looked sadly at Tilly. "Tell me the truth, doctor. I know it isn't good but…how bad is it?"

Doc contemplated for a moment. "Well her condition is pretty bad. Sepsis is always serious and given how young she is, her immune system isn't strong enough to handle something like this." He sighed as he looked at her. "It isn't going to be easy. Once I get my supplies, I'll hook her up to a respirator and an IV containing antibiotics and vasopressors. That should help fight the infection and keep her blood pressure up. After that is set up, I need to remove the source of the infection. Then we just wait. I'll hook her up to another IV and hope that her immune system can fight back."

The grandmother grasped Tilly's hand again. They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound coming from Tilly's rasping breathing. "We can't pay you."

Doc looked at the old woman with a raised eyebrow. The grandmother shifted uncomfortably in her stool. "You've seen this town. For those that have it, money is a frivolous thing. But for the rest of us, it is a precious commodity. The little money I get goes to food and little else. Because of the unbalanced economy, I've seen many families starve while their neighbors grow fat at feasts that were bought by their near unlimited wealth." She glanced at Doc. "So I'm sorry if you came here hoping to make money. Because we have none."

Doc just smiled softly. He put up a mollifying hand. "Please don't worry. My crew and I aren't in need of money at the moment." He was referring to the small fortune Rook came upon when he sold his wears to Rudeus. "I'm a doctor. My job is to help people, not make money. However…" He looked back to the front room where the various herbs. "Would you be willing to part with a few of the medicinal herbs you've gathered? I wouldn't ask for much, but even one or two leaves would be extremely helpful."

She stared at him in surprise. She had grown so used to being taken advantage of that not being taken advantage of was completely foreign to her. The realization that someone who was this kind still existed…her emotions almost overwhelmed her. She sniffed once to clear her head before they settled in to wait.

It was about a little over two hours later before Bishop returned with Maya. When they got there, Isaac was asleep beneath the shade of a nearby tree, snoring with drool falling from the corner of his mouth. Rook had climbed said tree and was positioning a hammer that would fall on Isaac's head. When he saw the two, he put a finger to his mouth and went "Shhhhh."

Bishop blinked in his direction while Maya rubbed her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. Watching Rook's antics tended to do that to her. Deciding to ignore what was about to happen, they went inside to engage in the more pressing matter. When Doc heard them enter the house, he ushered them into the room where Tilly was lying in bed. Maya looked pained when she saw her. Children were…hard for her. Though she quickly covered it with her usual professional manner. Bishop immediately started pulling everything out of his shadow. Tilly's grandmother's eyes bulged in amazement. It isn't every day you see a man pull various medicines and supplies, an IV stand, and an oxygen tank from his shadow.

Doc nodded in appreciation. "Thanks for doing this." He said. Then he looked around the crowded room. "With the equipment, it is going to get too cramped." He looked at Bishop pleadingly. "I'll only need Maya for this one. Think you can wait outside with the others?"

Before Bishop could answer, they heard a smacking sound outside quickly followed by Isaac yelling a painful "Fuck!" In the background they could hear Rook laughing hysterically.

With a small sigh, Bishop nodded and headed for the door. "I need to make sure they don't kill each other anyway. Good luck."

Doc and Maya started setting everything up as quickly as they could. They had no time to waste. It didn't take them long, this had become something of a routine for them. And once they were ready, Doc turned to the grandmother as he put his scrubs on. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to wait in the other room."

From outside, they heard Rook and Isaac arguing. Then a gun cocked and they both went silent.

She nodded in understanding. "I'll be just outside then. And doctor?" She looked at him and gave him a slight smile and a bow of the head. "Thank you."

Doc smiled back as she turned for the door. "You're very welcome."

But she had just reached the door when they heard three sets of feet running inside. Rook, Bishop, and Isaac stuck their heads in, all three alert with warning in their eyes.

"We got company!" Rook managed to say. Then the window on the other side of the room burst open with shards of glass raining everywhere as a form jumped through. A rough looking man wielding a large cutlass.

"The lass is mine!" He shouted. He made for Tilly, his free hand extended. Rook, Bishop, and Isaac all tried to rush forward at the same moment, which only got them stuck in the doorway. The grandmother could only stare in shock while Maya attempted to rush forward to protect the little girl.

Silence fell over the room and everyone went still as a knife appeared at the intruder's throat. And it wasn't an ordinary knife. This one was smaller than a butter knife and about the size of a pen. Yet despite that, the blade gleamed wickedly as it was pressed against his skin…by Doc. The pacifist captain, the one who swore to do no harm, now held his surgical knife against the throat of his enemy.

The bandit looked at him lazily. He saw a scrawny man who, while tall, lacked anything that resembled muscle. His near feminine features didn't inspire any sense of danger or bloodlust. But despite that, everything about him seemed cold, as if murdering a man wouldn't bother him at all.

He laughed. "Put the toothpick down, princess." He grumbled. "Even something as small as that could make you…hurt yourself."

He reached for Doc's arm, but was stopped as the doctor repositioned the knife to gain easier access to his throat. "This knife, while small, is designed to easily open flesh so that I might more easily gain access to your internal organs." Doc explained calmly. A shadow fell over his face, hiding his eyes. His entire crew stood stock still, staring at him like they had never seen him before. "In this placement, there aren't any organs for me to operate on so all this knife, this insignificant knife, will do is open your jugular and spill all of your blood onto the floor. You'll die within seconds. So please, I invite you to understand just what kind of predicament you'll be in if your hand so much as twitches." The blade pressed closer to the bandit's neck, making a small cut. "All it will take is this. Tiny. Little. Knife."

As he felt blood start to trickle down his neck, the bandit swallowed. He suddenly realized just how much danger he was in. "W-What is this? They said that you were just a doctor."

"I _am_ a doctor." He replied slowly. He looked at the man and there was a resolve in his eyes. "A doctor who won't let you lay one hand on this poor girl. So leave now or…" His hand shook for a fraction of a second as his resolve failed him. And in that moment, something happened. A shot rang out, causing Rook and Isaac to cover their ears. The bandit grunted and his eyes widened in surprise as he looked down to find a bullet hole in his chest.

In surprise, Doc removed his knife and looked down as the man collapsed. All eyes turned from Doc to Bishop, who was standing behind Rook and Isaac, smoke emanating from the barrel of his pistol. He had a very cold and detached look on his face. He stepped forward and the two separated to let him pass. He put his gun back inside his vest and leaned down to heft the man up, draping one of his arms over his shoulders. Rook came to help as he dragged him back towards the door.

"…Your patient needs you, Captain." That was all Bishop said as he and his brother carried the body outside.

Doc watched them go with mixed feelings. On one hand, he was reviled by what just happened. But on the other hand…he was glad. He was so glad that it wasn't him that had to pull the trigger. His whole body started shaking as he contemplated what happened. He had been about to kill that man. A living person nearly died by his hand, despite the oath he gave. He started taking deep breaths to steady himself. He had nearly broken his most core belief to save that child.

Maya was suddenly there with a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, his face clearly showing the conflict that was raging inside him. He saw something in her eyes. Something he had seen before but quickly removed the memory from his mind. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He would deal with them later.

"Alright." He said after a breath. "Isaac, go with Rook and Bishop. Take a defensive position around the house. We don't want any more surprises. Maya…let's start the surgery."

* * *

 **There you go folks. What do you think? Not overly action packed I know but still juicy with content I believe.**

 **Till next time!**


	18. Protecting the Spirit

**How many of you weren't expecting an update today? Ha! Fooled you. But in all seriousness, with this I'll hopefully be back on track. Aside from my monthly trip, I don't foresee anything that would impede me updating.**

 **And with that, on with the story!**

* * *

The only sounds in the room were the drips from the IV and Tilly's ragged breathing. Occasionally, there was a clink of metal as Doc used his knives to open Tilly's knee. He scrunched his nose at the sight of all the pus. That was the thing with infections. You don't know how bad it really is until you see it directly.

He looked at Maya. "Prepare the antiseptic while I drain the pus. Then start wetting the bandages." He said softly. Even though he was in doctor mode, he was still shaken by what had happened earlier.

Maya did as she was told. She turned from the bed as she heard Doc set a pan down underneath Tilly's leg. "Tilly, can you hear me?" He whispered. "I know this next part is going to be painful, but please bear with it." Then he made a small incision on the bottom of her leg, just beneath the knee, and immediately attached a small tube that emptied out into the pan. "I don't like using drains." He muttered, more to himself than anything. Tilly squirmed slightly, but otherwise she didn't budge. She started wetting the bandages in a pan of more antiseptic. "Too many risks involved with further infection. But given the advanced state of your condition, the benefits outweigh the risks."

Maya knew what was happening. Doc was trying to distract himself. "Doc…" She handed him a bottle filled with antiseptic. He took it and started slowly pouring it into the wound, watching to see it pour into the tube, taking more pus and blood with it. "Doc listen to me."

He didn't respond. Although he did mutter, "Good." He poured a little more. "Good."

"You need to talk about it." She said, suddenly stern. "If you keep it bottled up like this, it will affect your performance."

"…I almost did it." He said after a long pause. He just sat and watched the drain. It was all he could really do at this point. "I almost hurt…I almost took that man's life. I'm supposed to be a doctor. A healer! The fact that I even considered harming another makes me…sick." There was a hitch in his voice and Maya saw that there were tears coming from his eyes. "But I would have done it. I would have cut him open right there. Because even with my oaths and my conscience…I believe there is a special place in hell for people who harm children." The tears were coming down in full streams now, falling on the sheets next to Tilly. "So I'm glad. So glad that Bishop did what he did. And what makes it worse is that I'm glad it wasn't me…"

He felt someone put a hand on his hand and he looked up expecting Maya trying to console him. So he was shocked when he saw that she was still with the bandages, frozen in place with her eyes wide. He looked to see what she was looking at and froze too. It was Tilly, but the fact that the young girl was conscious wasn't what was surprising.

A glow emanated from her eyes as Doc looked at her. "What…what is this?"

* * *

Rook, Bishop, and Isaac were situated at the base of the tree Isaac had been sleeping under. Rook was busy cleaning his sword while Isaac was giving Bishop a wide stare. Bishop himself was leaned against the trunk of the tree, contemplating the body next to him.

"So we gonna talk about what went down back there?"

"What do you mean?" Rook asked, not looking up from his sword.

"…are we really going to brush the dead body aside?"

"Actually I think a burial is more appropriate."

They both stopped to turn to Bishop. Isaac's eyes were wide while Rook just raised an eyebrow. Bishop didn't acknowledge the movement, just kept watching the body. "Even bastards deserve graves." Was all he said in justification.

After the initial shock at the pure boldness of that statement, not many people talk about murder cleanup as calmly as Bishop just did, Isaac shook his head and stepped closer. "I'm not joking."

"And I don't joke."

"Shut the fuck up for a minute! Listen, I've been in this crew long enough to know you ain't normal pirates. If this were a legit crew, we'd be out in that town looting everything in sight!" He exclaimed, pointing towards the town and all its wealthy inhabitants. "And I get why you don't, you're a 'peaceful' crew." He made air quotes with his fingers then gestured at the body. "But this? This isn't what you do. I mean, maybe Alec would, but that's just because he's a greedy asshole. But you aren't." He looked directly at Bishop, straight in the eyes hidden beneath the mask. "So why did you do it? Why would you kill someone like that? And I'm guessing you got the same warning that I did when I joined. The moment you hurt someone this bad, you get kicked out."

Bishop lifted a hand to stop the downpour of questions. He could understand why he had become so passionate about it. While he used to be a bandit, he didn't look like the kind of person who needlessly hurt people. From what he knew, he got his bounty from property damage, eat and runs, and excessive amounts of public debauchery. Yet at the same time, he hurt people. He knew his way around a fight but here he was angry that Bishop killed a man. There might be something behind that, but he would have to look into it later. For now, he guessed he owed Isaac an explanation.

"What do you think I do in this crew?" He simply asked. "Doc is the captain and doctor. Maya is the vice-captain and cook. Alec is a thief. Rook is a smith." He nodded his head at Isaac. "You are a bandit. And what of me? What position do I hold?"

Isaac hesitated for a moment. "Uh…you're our navigator aren't you?"

Bishop nodded. "Correct. And for all intents and purposes, that is what it looks like. But take it down to a baser level and you'll see that every member constitutes something more. Doc is our captain, our leader, our center. Without him, this crew would not exist. Maya enforces Doc's will, makes sure that none of us cross the line or jeopardize the crew. Alec and Rook protect Doc. They make sure he stays safe." He eyed Isaac up and down. "Given time, you will likely also fill this role. But what of me? You know my condition. With my eyesight as damaged as it is, I am at a disadvantage in a prolonged fight. Quick skirmishes I can handle, but bodyguard duty I cannot. So what am I?"

He leaned forward so their noses were almost touching. "I cannot protect Doc himself. Instead, I protect who he _is._ " He lashed an arm towards the house. "You saw what was about to happen back there. If Doc had gone through with what he threatened, it would have scarred him for the rest of his life. It would have changed him for the worse. So I acted. I did what he should never have to." He looked down at the dead man again, closing his eyes after a moment's look. "So that his hands can remain clean, I will gladly soak mine in oceans of blood."

Isaac was in something between awe and surprise. To be honest, this was the most he'd heard the younger brother speak since meeting him. Usually he just stayed in the corner looking dark and mysterious and staring dramatically into the distance. But now he had to hold him in a different light. He wasn't just some shadow skulking creep stick. He was living his life to protect something important to him.

It was at that moment that Rook stood up drew his katana. "Glad you two had this little powwow." He glared in annoyance at Isaac. "And thanks for making him talk so much. Bishop is like a battery. Now that you've used up all his talking time, it'll be weeks before he says anything beyond two syllables again." He was talking in a joking manner, but his eyes were glued on the trail in the distance.

Bishop didn't say anything in response as he pulled out two pistols from his vest. He couldn't see anything that far away, but he knew that Rook wouldn't unsheathe his sword without reason. Isaac just looked between the two in confusion. "Uh…why are you two going all battle mode on me?" He asked referring to their drawn weapons.

"Because we've got company, dumbass." Rook said. Figures were slowly marching into view from the city. And from the look of their own weapons, they weren't here to chat. "…think they'll be upset when they see what we did to their friend?"

Isaac snapped his head towards him. "'We' my ass! That was all Bishop!"

"I don't think they'll care."

Isaac ground his teeth together in frustration, but then he grinned at the approaching grunts. "At least I'll get to hit something. Been a while since I've had a good brawl!"

They walked out to the middle of the street so that none of the men could run passed towards the house. Rook had his katana resting on his shoulder, the small metal pinwheel clinking in the wind like a small wind chime. Bishop had his arms relaxed at his sides, but his fingers were ready and willing to pull the triggers in a second's notice. Isaac has his fists together and popped a few knuckles. All in all, they looked intimidating even if they said so themselves.

But that didn't really seem to matter to the various lackeys and mercenaries that were smiling at them with malicious glee. They stopped just short of being in range. Rook took one look at them and blinked in astonishment. "Oh you've got to be kidding."

"Oi!" One of them shouted. He had an axe hefted on both his shoulders, a rather large one at that. "Our boss wants the girl. We sent a man in to get her, but it looks like you beat him." He scanned the house behind the three and noticed how peaceful it looked. "So how about this. You hand over our man and the girl. We get what we want and you get to keep breathing. We all leave happy." The other grunts chuckled and jeered, their weapons gleaming as the sun began to set. Seeming to think they had the upper hand given their larger numbers, he shouted as an afterthought, "We'll give you three minutes to think it over." They all burst into laughter at that.

The three of them stood motionless, shadows cast over their eyes as the mirth rang through the air. "Bishop," Rook said slowly, "show them our answer."

Bishop silently stalked towards the tree, the laughter dying down to a curious silence as all the men watched him move. The watched as he bent down to pick up something behind the tree and then recoiled in shock as he pulled their man's body out from behind it. They all choked and stared and tried to get words out of their mouths as Bishop dragged him back to his spot and then with a heft, tossed him towards the group, the dead weight hitting the ground with a thud.

The jeering and lazy attitudes of the men transformed into anger and rage at the sight of their dead friend. "Y-You bastards!"

"You have our answer!" Rook called loudly. He pointed his sword at them and shouted, "Now bring it!"

With a raucous cry, the enemy numbers charged towards them. Bishop raised his pistols, ready to fire the moment they got in range, Isaac grinned as he set his feet in the dirt, ready for the oncoming barrage, and Rook got into stance. When the enemies crashed into them, they would be ready to fight back.

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 **There you go folks! One chapter fresh off the keyboard. Please let me know what you think. Why is everyone after Tilly? What is it about her that surprised Doc and Maya? Find out next time!**

 **See you then!**


	19. The Girl Who Can Grant Wishes

**And we're back! I know this is a week late, but things have been pretty hectic. With the semester limping its way to a close, things have gone all topsy turvy on my end. But on the plus side, next month I won't be taking a week off so I hope you're ready for four straight updates at minimum.**

 **But enough of my excuses. On with the story!**

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As the group of thugs charged forward with weapons raised, Rook put a cocky grin on his face. "You guys just leave this to me." He said with confidence. Taking a few steps forward, he put himself at the head of the trio which made him the main target. "I got this."

"We'll kill you bastards!"

The first of the group, slightly faster than the others, finally reached swinging distance. He had a small sword gripped in his meaty hands. Rook noted it with disapproval. "Downwards backhand motion." He said as the man just implemented that very attack. He leaned to his left to avoid the sloppily made slash. "Horizontal slash." He ducked. "Vertical follow up." He jumped to the side.

The grunt's eyes widened at how his attacks were being predicted. "How the hell are you doing that? You've never seen me fight before!" He took a step back just as the rest of the group met up with him. They didn't even take note of him as they surged passed.

Rook smirked. "I don't need to know you. I know your _weapons_." He lunged forward to meet a man with scrawny arms and held a spear. "Bronze tip with a bamboo staff." He disarmed the man by slashing upwards so that his sword met the staff between the wielder's hands and twisted his wrist so the spear twirled through the air and impaled itself in the ground next to the tree. He kicked the man in the chest to send him sprawling on the ground.

A man lowered a gun and Rook picked him as the next target. "Flintlock with an extended barrel." Just before he pulled the trigger, Rook slashed down on the barrel with enough force to cut it in half, rendering it useless. With a surprised whimper, the man's anger left him and he backed away in fear.

Rook's sword hung almost loosely in his hand as he went from person to person doing similar analyses. "Great axe with a steel plating. Iron Broadsword. Brass knuckles with spikes. Lacquered bo staff. Steel mace." One by one he attacked his opponents, recognizing their weapons on sight and using the best method for disarming each of them. He never directly cut any of the grunts holding them. Bishop had already killed someone today. He didn't want to add to the body count.

As this was happening, Bishop was now leaning against the tree with his arms crossed, his pistols still clutched in his hands just in case. Next to him, Isaac looked like someone had just taken away his favorite toy. "Why does he get to do all the fighting!?" He asked. "I was pumped to get into a nice brawl."

A small smile flitted across Bishop but then it was a gone. "Easier."

"…can't I just pick off the ones on the outskirts? I'm dying for a fight here, man." In response, all Bishop did was shrug. But when Isaac took a step towards the melee Bishop stopped him. "Oh come on!" Isaac complained. Bishop looked him in the eye and then pointed his gaze back towards Rook.

He had made himself a clearing among the now wary. Those closest to him were unconscious on the ground with the weapons out of reach. Rook himself had a mixture of satisfaction and boredom, an odd combination, on his features. "So I've taken out fifteen of your men in like two minutes." He took in a deep breath so he could shout loud enough to be heard by everyone there. "Come on out, Rudeus!"

Silence hung over the gathering until the men farthest from the house separated to let a single man make his way through.

"Oh my, oh my! How ever did you knoooow?" Then man himself stepped into the circle, casting a disgusted look over the fallen.

Rook raised an eyebrow and gestured at all the weapons. "You bought these from _me_. I made them. I know them. I know how these weapons work." He lazy looked at the gathered men. "Those weapons are far better than the men holding them. And since the wielders don't know what to do, the weapons make up for the difference with their own movements." He looked at the first man he fought, the one with the spear. " _That_ is how I disarmed you." He went back to Rudeus. "Never try to fight a smith with his own weapons."

Rudeus raised his cane and pulled on the top ruby. The top gave way to reveal a hidden blade. A cane sword. "If that is true, then perhaps it is IIIIIIII who should be your opponent."

Just looking at Rudeus would give anyone the impression that he was a pushover. Decked out in gold thread and rubies, they would miss the toned muscles underneath. And Rook could tell just by looking at the way he held his blade that this wasn't some grunt who had never been in a serious fight.

Looking over his shoulder, he smirked at Bishop and Isaac. "Tag out."

That was all Isaac needed. He yelled out a joy filled bellow and rushed the nearest enemies. Turning to see what was making the noise, the man didn't realize what was happening until Isaac had his head in his hands and was colliding it with his knee.

As the man went slump, Isaac shouted, "Haha! Who's next you dickless shits?"

That was about all it took for the assembled men and their weapons to turn from Rook to Isaac and Bishop, who was standing close to him.

But unlike Isaac, Bishop didn't enjoy warning his opponents. He raised his pistols and fired a shot each, immediately disarming two men by shooting their hands.

Isaac raised an eyebrow. "Thought you would've killed them." A man with an axe charged and he broke the shaft of the weapon with a well-aimed punch. The axe blade fell with the flat landing on top of the assailer's foot. The man yelped and immediately hopped up and down holding his foot. Isaac knocked him out with a blow to the nose.

"I kill by necessity." The fuzzy outlines of four men came into focus and he wasted no time shooting them each in the foot. "I don't enjoy doing it."

As the grunts turned their attentions elsewhere, Rook and Rudeus squared off. With a small amount of effort, Rudeus jammed the cane into the ground so it would stand without him holding it.

"Now what should I doooo? You really should have just left his place alooooone."

Rook sighed. "Okay, I'll bite. Why is this place so important to you?"

Rudeus put a hand to his mouth and laughed. "You don't knoooow?" He asked condescendingly. "If you don't know, then why did you come heeeere?"

Rook shrugged. "Our captain is a doctor. Someone here is sick. You do the math."

"Hmm…I see, I seeeee." Rudeus answered. "Well then if you don't know, then all the more reason to dispose of yoooou." He lunged forward with his sword pointed directly in front of him. "I won't share her with anyoooone!"

Rook saw the lunge coming and parried it with his katana. And despite the flashy getup, Rudeus packed some power behind his attack. So when the impact hit him, he was pushed back. He furrowed his eyes. "Okay. I admit that took me by surprise." He admitted.

"Oh my, oh my! You'd be surprised how many people misjudge me at first siiight." Rudeus said confidently. He put his free hand on his hip and pointed the sword at him. "Before becoming the majestic beast you see before you, I was a soldiiier for a neighboring country." Flipping the sword around, he rubbed his cheek against the ruby hilt. "But that was before I was reboooorn as a successful businessman. I have all the money I'll ever need, but I still like to keep my skills hooooned."

"Oh. Ooooh that is great news." He said excitedly. He flashed an almost feral grin and took a stance with his sword. "That means I don't have to worry about killing you." Before Rudeus had time to respond, Rook lunged forward with his sword held high. Rudeus raised his own blade to counter, but Rook pushed off the ground and twisted his waist, going into a horizontal spin so that he was level with Rudeus's legs. "Torre Attack!" He slashed at his legs, but he truly was stronger than he looked. Realizing what Rook was about to do, Rudeus jumped in order to avoid the slash.

Rook grinned again as his momentum kept him spinning past like a screw. He came to a skidding halt with his legs crouched so they weren't strained as badly by the halting momentum. "Not many people manage to dodge that." He complimented.

Rudeus took it with a flourished bow. "Just one of my many skills acquired as a soooldier. Then he stiffened his wrist and attacked in a fencing-like style. "Now allow me to rebuttal!"

He lunged and stabbed, keeping one hand behind his back as he did so. Rook frowned at that. There were no flaws in his moves or anything like that. But it was just wrong. "Hey…nothing wrong with fencing, but why aren't you using your sheath?" He asked. Rudeus might have been good, but he wasn't a slouch either. With every strike, Rook either blocked or parried it but didn't give an inch.

"Hmph. Surely you jeeest!" In a sudden change in style, he brought the blade up in an arch and brought it down hard. Rook was pushed back by the force of the blow. The resulting skidding made him impact with a grunt. Before the man could understand what was happening, Rook bashed him on top of the head with the end of his sword. With that nuisance unconscious, he brought his attention back to Rudeus…though the man was currently creeping him out.

Rudeus had grabbed his cane sheath and was rubbing it against his face in adoration. "Why would I ever use this work of aaaart? Sullying it in battle would only mar its beauuuty!"

And with those two simple sentences, Rudeus went down a few pegs on the ladder of respect. More like he swan dived off of it actually. He was on top of him faster than he could react. Only his years of training as a soldier saved Rudeus. While his mind might not have realized what was about to happen, his body instinctively reacted. He brought the sheath up to protect his face just as Rook's sword was going to cut it. "Aaaaaah!" He screamed, horrified. "What have you done to my precious treasuuuuure?"

"See, this is where we're going to have a problem." With a twist of his wrist, his blade cut into the gold of the cane. He pulled back on the sword and carved out a large chunk of gold out of the cane. He grabbed the chunk and presented it the horror struck Rudeus. "Gold is a soft metal. It makes a terrible weapon." Giving it a slight toss in the air, he chopped it up until it fell to the ground in tiny pieces.

"Wha…what have you done?" He was holding the remains of his cane reverently, tears going down his cheeks. "Do you…have any idea…how much this cost me!?"

Rook lunged again, cutting the businessman on the cheek. He grabbed the wound and danced around, screaming, "My faaaace! My beautiful faaaace!"

"The most common and efficient sword cane fighting styles involve using the cane sheath as a guard. The sword itself is light and small, needing only one hand to wield. In fact, using two just lowers the amount of techniques one can pull off. And since using a sword that small in one hand will leave your other side unguarded, it is an ineffective style."

Rook stabbed forward, aiming for his chest. He knew he wouldn't kill him. Rudeus was too good, as he proved when he locked blades with him and held off the otherwise fatal attack. His strength meant Rook had to go into this with intent to kill. Anything less and he'd be the one dead. Didn't mean he was actually going to kill him just that he had to hold back before he dealt the finishing blow.

"But I'm not going to judge you for that." He continued. "Everyone has their own style and techniques that suit them best. But if there's one thing that pisses me off more than anything," he cut at Rudeus' hand, forcing him to recoil and drop the damaged sheath he was still clutching. Rook snatched it up and held it tightly, bending the soft gold. "This is not a weapon. This is a _decoration!_ " He crushed it in his hand then twisted and bent it until it was beyond recognition.

Rudeus' jaw dropped. "How-how-how-how could yooooou!" He dropped to his knees and scuttled forward to scoop up the golden pretzel that used to be his cane. "My beautiful artwork. Ruined!"

"No true warrior would dishonor their weapon by decorating it. Weapons are meant to kill, not look good. The sharpness of the blade, the weight, the length, the color, the balance, all these things contribute to the weapon in some way. Garnishing it in useless adornment only takes away its worth." He knocked the cane out of his hand and stomped on it with finality. "I can't tell you how many times punks like you have tried to commission weapons like this, all gold and shiny and covered in jewelry. I turn them down every time. Because I make weapons. And a weapon doesn't need gold. It needs only the ability to take a life. So when I see people with toys like _this_ ," he ground the cane into the dirt and then kicked it away, "it makes me _angry_!"

Rudeus had been shaking. At first it had been in disbelief that someone as uncouth as Rook had damaged his property. But now it was in rage. "How dare you speak to me like that!? I'll kill you where you stand!" In his anger, his flippant way of speaking disappeared and his voice dropped a few octaves. He got to his feet and recklessly charged.

"Heh. Bring it. I'll show you how a real swordsman fights." Rook centered his sword and held it vertically with both hands. He focused on his limbs, watching them carefully as they flailed their way towards him. The fact that on hand held a sword meant little to him. He had ceased seeing him as a swordsman. "Four Knight's Game!" His sword flashed forward with such speed that Rudeus felt all four of his limbs being pierced at the same time.

"W-what?" The impact of the attack had enough force that Rudeus was pushed back. His limbs felt numb and they weren't responding. Everything felt slow motion to him as he started to fall. He looked over to see his sword falling out of his grip. Blood was seeping out of his hands. Looking down, it was coming out of his feet as well. In an instant all four of him appendages had been stabbed. He fell to the ground in a heap, his face frozen in a state of disbelief.

Rook was rotating his arm, loosening the muscle. "Yeah, you're probably wondering what the hell just happened." He smiled with a hint of smugness. "I hit four separate areas at almost the exact same time. Your brain is currently trying to figure things out and went into a state of shock."

He looked around at the men that were focusing on Rook and Isaac. Rudeus didn't really matter to him anymore. He'd be out of commission for a bit after taking that attack. He half expected the men to lay down their arms once they saw their boss down for the count, but that wasn't the case. They were so enraged over their friend's death that they didn't even register that he had been taken out.

Isaac was pummeling anyone that got close with vast amounts of prejudice. Five men made the mistake of trying to gang up on him, but quickly found that that was a bad idea. "Come here, fuckers!" Isaac grabbed one by his shirt and head-butt him. Then he swung the man around and threw him at the other four, bowling them over like a pair of pins. "Strrrrrrike!" Isaac cawed triumphantly. He was having the time of his life. He had a couple of nicks and bruises, but nothing too bad.

Bishop was another matter. There was a small pile of empty pistols at his feet. The majority of the force were concentrating on him. They might not have known that Bishop is the one that killed their friend, but nevertheless they were adamant on attacking him. Maybe it was because he didn't look as strong as Rook or Isaac did. Even newbies knew to attack the weakest link.

And unfortunately for Bishop, that was exactly what he was in this situation. He doesn't do well in drawn out fights. As a devil fruit user, he had an intimidation factor. Once he started pulling guns out of his body, people tended to get wary and back off. But these men were too enraged to yield to common sense. He already had one major wound. Someone had thrown a spear at him from behind the others. And since he had been so distracted by the crowd directly in front of him, he hadn't had time to get out of the way. Luckily for him, the thrower didn't have good aim. So what would have been a fatal wound was merely a deep wound in his shoulder. The spear was still impaled in the bone, sticking out awkwardly. Bishop wanted to remove it. It really hurt. Every time he moved the arm, the steel tip scraped against the bone and reminded him how that wasn't a good idea. And to make matters worse, it was limiting the maneuverability of his arm. Even when he did move it, it could only go so far before the spear halted movement either through pain or through the tip getting caught in the joint.

But every time he tried to pull it out, he was attacked on all sides. There were seven unconscious men from the last time he had attempted it. He was definitely in a tough spot.

And that was all Rook needed to see to jump in. "Oi, brother!" He jumped in the air and readied his sword.

Bishop looked in the direction his voiced had come from. He was breathing heavy and the spear wobbled strangely as his body moved. He vaguely saw Rook jumping into the air and knew instantly what he was setting up.

Even though the spear hindered his movements and his arm reminded him that moving was a terrible idea, he crossed his arms together and reached into the hiding spots he had planted in each elbow. He pulled out two strings of several pistols that were loosely tied together. Each pistol was an alternating color of black and white. The grunts seemed to realize something was up because they all charged at once, intent on finishing him off.

But they had been so focused that they hadn't heard or seen Rook coming in from their left. He had launched himself high in the air and was currently coming down in a steep arch, his sword held high and ready to strike down. He was focusing all of his energy into the blade and an energy was coiling around it.

He cut into the ground at the exact same time as Bishop pulled the strings to fire all of his guns simultaneously. "Game of Chess!" The moment his blade cut the soil, the energy he had been building up in it released and created several lines that cut through the ground. At the same time, Bishop's bullets whistled through the air in perpendicular lines. The two attacks crossed each other with the group of men at the center. Time stood still for a moment, revealing that the combined bullets and energy created the afterimages of a chessboard, each enemy occupying a different square.

Then the moment passed and time went forward again. There was no escape for the henchmen. Most of them didn't even realize what happened when the attack hit them. Either their legs were torn into by Rook's released energy or their torso's were showered in a rain of Bishop's bullets. Blood spurted everywhere and every single one of them fell to the ground.

Isaac and the few men who hadn't been caught up in the attack stood sweating with their eyes bulged out and their jaws on the floor. "W-What the hell was that?" One man asked Isaac.

The bandit could only shake his head. He had no clue what just happened either. He'd seen both of the brothers fight before, but this was the first time he'd seen them unleash techniques on this scale. "No fuckin clue." He admitted. "But which one of you wants to fight them next?"

Their anger evaporated. From what they could tell, nobody was dead besides the one Bishop killed earlier. But how long would that last? If these guys suddenly decided to make things deadly, they wouldn't stand a chance. "Uh…" Bishop and Rook turned at the noise, shadows cast over their eyes menacingly. The remaining enemies shuddered and made fear filled noises. They quickly grabbed their unconscious friends and started dragging them away.

Isaac laughed loudly at the sudden retreat. "That's right, get out of here pussies!" Rook grinned and Bishop gave a small, satisfied smile. But then Isaac turned to them. "So what the fuck? Since when could you do _that_?" He questioned.

The two shrugged. "Since always." He rested his sword on his shoulder, the pinwheel jingling with the motion. Bishop gritted his teeth together as he finally reached up and yanked the spear out of his shoulder. He almost groaned in a mixture of pain and relief as blood flowed freely down his arm, but he held it in. He didn't want to display weakness in case any of their fleeing foes decided it was worth a risk to attack again.

"But…but why haven't you done shit like that till now! We could have had a much easier time if you just wasted them all to begin with. Not that I'm complaining about that. If you guys handled everything, there'd be no fun for me. I just want to know why none of us knew you could pull off a technique that powerful." He said with a hint of mistrust in his voice.

Bishop stoically put a hand over his wound to stem the bleeding while Rook said, "Listen, do you want us to tell you every little secret we have? We don't go around showboating because we don't want to draw attention to Doc. If some bounty hunter or Marine got wind that we were strong, it would cause trouble. Trouble we don't want."

"The only reason we used that technique is because Rook could tell I was in trouble." Bishop said softly. Nobody missed the frustrated edge in his voice. It was at times like these that he wished he wasn't crippled as he was. He had to shake those thoughts off. There was nothing he could do about his eye at this point. "I would have been overwhelmed. There were simply too many."

Rook nodded. He wasn't insinuating his brother was weak, but there were times that he needed help. There was nothing wrong with that but Bishop would take it personally if he mentioned it. "And once they were done with him, they might have gone for Doc and the others inside. We couldn't risk that."

Their conversation was cut short by a hysterical giggling. "I'm not done yeeeet!"

They whirled towards the house and saw that Rudeus, still bleeding, was clawing his way towards the door. "Damn. Bit surprised he's still moving, actually." Rook commented.

"Yeah, I was going to ask. How did you pull off that 'four attacks at once' thing? Cause that was pretty fuckin' sweet."

"Heh. Maybe I'll show you sometime." Rook said with a grin.

Bishop rolled his eyes as they chatted and pointed a pistol at Rudeus. If they were just going to flap their gums, he would take care of the problem himself. Because if he managed to get inside he would very much become a problem. But just as he was about to pull the trigger, the door opened and Tilly's grandmother stepped out to see what the ruckus had been.

The moment her eyes landed on the crawling Rudeus, her inquisitive expression changed to one of pure rage. "You! You leeching, greedy, blood sucking pile of parasite dung! What do you think you are doing here!?"

All three of them were taken aback by the color display of hatred. Bishop pulled back his arm. They were just far enough away that they were blurry and he didn't want to risk hitting her.

"Parasite dung…yup. That's a new one." Isaac said in surprise. "I've heard my fair share of insults but that is definitely new."

Rook looked a little uncomfortable as the old woman stomped on Rudeus' hands and face, halting his progress. "Should…should we stop her."

Bishop blinked and took a step back. "You stop her."

"Fuck that!" Isaac retorted. They saw her knock a tooth with a harsh kick. They unanimously decided it was safer for them to just let her handle the situation.

"N-neeeeeed." Rudeus tried to say. But with every syllable, he received another stomp or kick that stopped him from speaking. But with every reprieve he tried again, despite the fact that his lower lip had been split open and blood was no doubt coating his tongue and throat. "My wiiiiiiish."

"No!" She shrilled. "I won't allow you or your ilk to use her ever again! Tilly has a right to live her life in peace without you money grubbing fools abusing her powers!" She stomped on the top of his head, digging his face into the soil and mixing it with his blood. "If it wasn't for you, none of this would have happened! Why did you have to ruin our lives like this!?" At that point, they noticed that tears were streaming from her eyes. This must have been something she had been holding inside for a while now. "We were happy! We were all happy. But then you had to find her and you _had_ to discover her power. Why can't you go away? Why can't you leave us alone?"

She didn't seem to realize that her repeated blows had rendered him unconscious. She just kept on kicking. It got to the point that the three stepped forward to try to stop her. Too many hits to the head and Rudeus' life might really be in danger. But before they reached her, Maya was suddenly behind her and pulled her away.

"Hey!" She yelled at her crewmates. "Why aren't you doing anything? If he dies because you just sat there and watched I won't feed you for a month." That was a real threat. None of them knew how to cook. Even if Doc didn't kick them out, they would likely starve. "Now drag his sorry ass in here and throw him on the couch." She added roughly.

They looked at each other questioningly. They didn't like Rudeus because he was a pompous asshole. And because he tried to kill him. But Maya was staring at Rudeus like she wanted to throw him in a grave and bury him alive. He had clearly done something that angered her almost beyond reason, but this had to be the first time she ever laid eyes on him.

But none of them were brave enough to question her. So Rook and Isaac each grabbed one of his feet and dragged him inside, moving quickly passed the struggling grandmother who still wanted to vent her rage some more. Bishop shambled inside after them, holding his shoulder and raising an eyebrow at Maya.

The mermaid didn't seem to be too upset with her squirming charge. She held on and didn't fight or yell or anything. When she saw Bishop's questioning look, she shook her head and said briskly, "Later."

Doc poked his head outside Tilly's room to see them all gathered. "I take it there will be no more interruptions?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

In response, Isaac and Rook moved aside to show him the unconscious Rudeus. They have expected Doc to rush up to him screaming about how they could let a man get in that condition, bloody and beaten with what was probably a fractured skull. And in any other circumstance, that is probably what would have happened. So they were surprised when Doc didn't even budge. He just looked at Rudeus and his eyes hardened. There was an edge to his voice when he spoke. "Good. Please come in here then. There's something you should all hear."

Maya had to practically drag the old woman into the room while the three looked at each other worriedly. Doc had never denied someone help before. Taking one last glance at Rudeus, they dutifully followed their captain. It was a bit cramped in the room so Rook and Bishop stuck to leaning against the doorframe just outside.

Tilly was sitting up in her bed, her back braced against the headrest with several pillows to keep her comfortable. The swelling in her knee had gone down slightly and it was wrapped in clean bandages with a small tube sticking out underneath emptying out into a pan. They tried to not look too closely at it. A basin slowly filling with blood and pus wasn't pretty to look at. There was an IV hooked up next to her supplying her with replacement blood for all she was losing. They hadn't known her blood type so the bag was labeled O negative. One of Doc's donations no doubt. She was curled up with her head resting on her knees. They all stopped short when they saw her eyes.

Tilly's eyes were anything but normal. A normal person's eyes were blue or brown or green. But no hers. Tilly's were so dazzling that you couldn't see just one color, but all of them. The sparkled and shone with every color of the rainbow. Just from watching, they saw soft pinks and yellows, vibrant reds and greens, deep blues and purples. It was so entrancing that for a moment, they were all stunned silent. Doc and Maya waited patiently for the feeling to pass, he and Maya had reacted similarly when Tilly first opened her eyes during surgery. The grandmother finally settled down and Maya let her go. Now she was shifting uncomfortably, looking between her granddaughter and the pirates like she was trying to gauge their reactions.

They managed to pull their eyes away, prompting Isaac to speak. "Okay…so what the hell is going on here? Why are her eyes rainbows? Is this why those asshats were after her?" He dragged his hand across his face, not sure what to do. He thought her eyes were pretty, almost like jewels, but there definitely wasn't something right about that. "Ah man! I wish I knew what-."

He was immediately, and forcefully, stopped from finishing that sentence as Maya punched him directly in the throat. He fell to his knees making a choking sound. "Don't say that word!"

As Isaac coughed and rolled on the ground, Rook and Bishop saw that all three of the adults had startled and panicked looks, like someone had just pulled a gun out and was pointing it at them. But strangest of all was that Tilly had slapped her hands over her ears and closed her eyes tightly, like kids did when they didn't want to hear something. All she was missing was the loud yelling of 'Lalalalala!' and the image would have been complete.

"What was that about?" Rook tentatively asked. He didn't really want to question the mermaid after she just throat punched a guy, but he wanted to make sure he didn't do whatever the hell Isaac did to deserve it.

There was a prolonged silence, nobody willing to speak. Doc and Maya both looked to the old woman but she just stared at the ground, stubbornly intent on not looking at any of them. Isaac let out a last few coughs before he hefted himself back to his feet, still breathing a little raggedly. Now he really wanted answers. He wasn't going to get throttled for nothing.

Minutes passed with nobody uttering a word. Bishop was content with waiting things out, but the others started to fidget uncomfortably. Finally Doc decided if nobody was going to speak, he would.

"Tilly-."

"My granddaughter," the woman interrupted, "is a girl who can grant wishes." She spoke with a precise edge that made it sound like every word was forced from her lips. She was clearly uncomfortable with this, but at the same time she wanted them to know, to understand. "My daughter and her husband died not long after Tilly was born. I make a living selling herbs from the forest nearby so I was able to comfortably provide for the two of us." She explained. "Many of the hospitals and doctors in town were clients of mine. In fact I used to be close friends with a lot of them. Things were peaceful and happy. When she was old enough, I started taking Tilly with me on my outings. Oh how the nurses and doctors and even the patients loved to see her." For the first time, something close to a smile appeared on her face. "They would give her candy and she would go play games with some of the bed ridden patients." The smile faded. "Every changed a year ago. We were walking in the forest, searching for more herbs that the town was running low on. It was a normal routine for us and we took a break underneath a fruit tree."

"Grandma let me climb the tree to get lunch!" Tilly interjected excitedly. She looked excited and happy to be talking about it, despite how sick she was. "I love climbing! You can find all sorts of things in trees, like bird nests and weird bugs!" She spoke with that fervent joy that only comes with childhood. Even Maya had to suppress a smile as she spoke. Just from listening to her, they could imagine how the townsfolk had come to love her. "And when I was looking around, I found a weird looking fruit. It had cool looking swirls on it!" She made wavy lines in the air with her fingers, and when she did a sinking suspicion settled in their stomachs. She looked down sheepishly. "Grandma told me to leave it alone since it might be poisonous…but it looked really yummy. So I ate it." She grimaced and stuck her tongue out. "It was super yucky though."

"…Devil Fruit." Bishop said simply. While the stories had been told, he had grabbed some bandages and wrapped them around his wounded shoulder. Doc took a worried step towards him when he saw, but he put up a hand to stop him. He remembered how nasty his own fruit had tasted and shuddered. "You ate a Devil Fruit."

"Yes." The grandmother said sadly. "The Wish Wish Fruit."

Despite her grandma's melancholy, Tilly giggled and grinned. "I'm a Wishing Girl!" There was a hint of an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. She had probably heard the stories of how Devil Fruit eaters proclaimed themselves. Even Bishop had called himself a Hiding Man when he introduced himself. She had probably always wanted to do the same and was happy that she finally got the chance.

Her grandmother looked at her sharply and Tilly's smile wilted and she curled back up, not looking at anyone. "At first, only her eyes changed. She didn't show any powers like the stories say, so I began to doubt. I took her to a hospital after that. They thought she contracted some sort of disease. They ran all sorts of tests, but she was in perfect health. They couldn't find anything wrong…that was when it first happened." She sneered in Rudeus' direction. " _That_ man ruined everything. All our happiness and peace destroyed in an instant."

"We were on our way home. It was sometime in the afternoon, but that man was already drunk and staggering his way around town. I remember pulling Tilly away from him when he got too close. I could smell the alcohol on his breath and the bottle was still in his hand. Back then, he was still a soldier I believe. He was grumbling to himself when he passed so he didn't notice us immediately. I remember it clearly. 'I want to be rich and never worry about money every again.'" She was careful not to say the word 'wish' since Tilly was still in the room. "…That was the first time her powers activated. When she heard him speak, her eyes shined even brighter than normal and she looked like she was in a trance. Then suddenly coins and money started raining down on top of the man." She looked so angry that her body shook. "You should have seen his face. His wish had been granted. And you can imagine the amount of attention he got with money falling from the sky. It wouldn't have been so bad if that had been the end of it. I would have kept Tilly at home away from people. They would forget about the incident after a while and she could have had a chance at a normal life again."

"But that didn't happen. _Rudeus_ ," She said his name like a swear word, like it was poisonous in her mouth, "started telling everyone that his wish had come true, screaming it at the top of his lungs. Well that got people thinking. Everyone on the street started shouting out their wishes and looking to the sky. Tilly had no choice but to grant all of their wishes, and she shined brighter with each one." She shook her head sadly. "It didn't take long for them to connect the dots. 'The girl who can grant wishes', they called her. People all over town flocked us, grabbing her and wishing with all their hearts. Some people wished back dead family, others wanted love or possessions, but most wished for money." She looked at them. "That's why the town is in the shape it is in now. Those who didn't wish for wealth are in severe poverty while those who did sit upon their laurels like they were kings. Friends turned against each other and families were torn apart as greed consumed them. For months this went on, people wishing and wishing and wishing, making Tilly grant each and every one of them. After the dust settled, everyone was _happy_." She said it with enough scorn to kill a full grown Island Whale. "But even now we get harassed by people who still aren't satisfied. They come begging for more, but we can't give it to them." She sighed tiredly. "Thank goodness for that."

"What do you mean?" Rook asked. "Can't people just keep on wishing?"

"Uh uh." Tilly answered. "One per person. That's the rule." She stated it with certainty that most children her age can't muster. But Bishop understood what she meant. Each Devil Fruit has its quirks. This must be one of hers. "But nobody listens when I tell them." She added sadly.

"When we found her in town, do you remember what was happening?" Doc asked seriously. "Outside the hospital?"

Rook rubbed his jaw in thought. "Yeah. Didn't they kick you out over something?" He chuckled. "You gave them one hell of a tongue lashing."

Doc nodded. "They refused to help her, but at the time we didn't understand why. But now we know. That man wanted another wish before he would willingly treat Tilly." He had purposefully not called him a doctor. In his eyes, that man would never be a doctor. If he was so controlled by greed that he was unwilling to help a single child, he didn't deserve the honor of the title.

A sudden chill crawled up their spines. The crew quickly decided that they didn't want to see what would happen if Doc ever laid eyes on him again.

"Wait a second, if she can grant wishes, couldn't you have just wished for her to get better?" Isaac suddenly asked.

"That's…actually a good question." Rook admitted. "Look at you, using that peanut you call a brain for once."

"What the hell, man!?" Isaac yelled angrily. "My brain ain't no peanut!" He looked ready to jump at him, but a chilly glare from Maya quickly stopped that line of thinking. Which only proved he was smarter than he looked because only an idiot would cross Maya.

The grandmother sighed again. "It wouldn't work. Believe me, I tried. But the wishes don't seem to work if she's involved." She looked very tired, the topic weighed on her like a mountain of stones. "I wished for her to get better, but nothing happened. And back when we first learned about her powers, I wished for the fruit to leave her, to go to someone else, but it didn't work then either." She cast a pleading look at Doc. "Tell me Doctor, is there any way to remove a Devil Fruit?"

There was a pregnant pause before Doc answered her. There was only one way to do what she wanted, they all knew that. And none of them could look her in the eye, not even Bishop. "The only way to part a Fruit from its eater…is death." He finally answered. He was looking sadly at Tilly when he said it. "There's been a lot of research in the subject. Back when I was a Marine, I heard rumors of a secret lab where doctors were trying to remove Devil Fruits from prisoners in Impel Down. But there have been no successes. The only thing we know for sure is that the fruit will only reincarnate into another fruit when its current user dies."

She sagged at his answer, falling into the chair by Tilly's bed. "I was afraid of that." She sighed. "I couldn't stop myself from hoping, but it seems we won't ever be at peace ever again."

It was Tilly's turn to shift uncomfortably now. "I'm sorry grandma." She hiccupped as she started crying. "I shouldn't have eaten that fruit. I'm sorry I'm a monster now."

"Oh child." Emotions started welling up inside her and she hugged Tilly to her chest. "Never call yourself that. You are my precious granddaughter. The only monsters around here are people like Rudeus."

The crew had various emotions surging through them at the scene. Pity, sadness, relief, anger. But there was one person who had remained impartial throughout the tale. While the others got emotional, he had put his brain to work, thinking of various plans and outcomes.

"She's right you know." They all looked around to see where the voice was coming from, but none of them could find it. Only Rook knew what was happening and he smiled slyly as Bishop protruded from the wall next to Tilly. She squeaked at the sight of him, half his body sticking out of the wall. He was smiling at her. "There's nothing wrong with you. You're just different." He gestured at where his torso connected with the wall. "See? I'm different too." He pulled an apple out of his pocket and handed it to her. "That doesn't make us monsters."

Tilly sniffed a couple of times and gingerly took the apple. Bishop smiled playfully, something Rook wished he had a camera for, before sinking back into the wall and reappearing at his side by rising through the floor.

"That was nice of you." He said simply.

Bishop shrugged. "She needed to hear it from someone like her." He answered in the same tone. He watched as Tilly took a bite and smiled. She giggled and waved at Bishop before eating more.

"So where did you get that apple?" He asked. They hadn't had any on the ship so he was actually curious where he got it.

"Stole it from the produce cart."

"What!? You mean that expensive one? When the hell did you do that?" Rook demanded incredulously.

"While you were arguing with the vendor." Bishop replied. "He really should keep his eye on his produce better."

"But…But…why?" Bishop wasn't exactly a thief. Yeah he was a pirate, but Rook couldn't think of a time when he had outright stolen from someone else. If he had picked up the habit from Alec, he was going to throw his ass overboard.

Again he shrugged. "I wanted to taste what a ten thousand beri apple would taste like." He pulled out a second apple and bit a chunk out of it with a satisfying crunch. It was sweeter than he thought it would be…but it was definitely just a normal apple. Nevertheless, he kept munching on it. He smiled slightly as he chewed, giving the image that he was enjoying an incredible flavor that the others were missing out on…just because he was the serious type didn't mean he didn't enjoy messing with his brother.

And taking the bait, Rook gulped and started to drool a little. "Can…can I have some?"

"…No." He finished it, core and all, and off handedly tossed the stem to Rook, who caught it with a look of pure betrayal. Satisfied with his brother's reaction, he stepped over to Doc and started whispering in his ear. He hadn't given Tilly the apple and soothing words solely to ease her heart. He had to make himself seem friendly and approachable. But that wouldn't be enough for what he had planned. While he might seem friendly now, they would trust Doc much more than they would trust him. But at the very least they wouldn't question him giving Doc advice.

Doc listened patiently to what Bishop told him, nodding at certain parts. His eyes widened at the idea he was presenting. "Do you really think that will work?" He asked. Perhaps he was a bit too loud because all eyes turned to them. The grandmother didn't know what they were talking about, but she instinctively pulled Tilly closer to her protectively.

Bishop shrugged. "It won't hurt to try. If my hunch is correct, you just need to be careful with the phrasing. If it doesn't work, nothing will happen so we really have nothing to lose with trying." Something had tipped him off from Tilly's story. The grandmother had said that she had specifically wished for the fruit to leave Tilly's body. She also said that the fruit wouldn't grant a wish that involved Tilly. So if they took her out of the equation…

Doc knelt next to Tilly and the old woman and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Tilly, my friend thinks we might be able to help you. Normally something like this wouldn't happen, but with your powers it might just work." He looked more at the grandmother than at Tilly when he asked, "Do you mind if I make a wish?"

The grandmother immediately tensed. "No, please no. It won't work." She said, her voice strained. "I've already tried. Please don't give us false hope."

Doc looked at her with pity. "I know it might be hard for you to trust, but it might work. Will you at least let us try?"

Tilly pushed herself away from the embrace and looked at Doc. "You're…going to try and get rid of my power aren't you?" She asked. She was young so she couldn't understand everything that was happening, but she picked up that much.

Doc nodded to her. "Yes. If that's what you want. I don't know if we'll succeed, but it's worth a try, I think."

Tilly looked thoughtful. "I wanna go play with all my friends again. But their parents won't let me. If I was normal do you think things could go back to the way they were?" She asked. "I liked things better back then."

Doc smiled. "The decision is yours. Nobody here can make that for you. If you want to try, we can do that. If you want to keep your powers, that's okay too. The choice is yours Tilly."

The little girl looked first at Doc and then at her grandma with her rainbow colored eyes. Doc didn't think it was fair to put this kind of choice before such a small child. But at the same time he couldn't do anything unless she wanted him to. The grandmother looked at her pleadingly, but she didn't say anything. No matter how badly she wanted those powers gone, she knew she couldn't interfere with the decision.

Finally, Tilly nodded. "Okay. I want to be normal again."

Her grandma took a sharp breath, almost a gasp but not quite. She felt her hopes rising as Doc smiled and nodded. "Alright. Then please listen very carefully." He looked back at Bishop, hoping that his hunch was right. These two didn't deserve everything they've been through. If he could fix things, he would do everything he could. "Tilly…" The girl looked at him, her body tense with excitement and apprehension.

"I wish the Wish Wish Fruit was in my hand."

The wish didn't involve Tilly at all. If Bishop was right, the fruit would have to grant the wish since it didn't directly involve the girl. And everyone held their breath, waiting for something to happen, hoping that it would work. There was a beat where nothing happened. Tilly's eyes didn't shine, nothing extraordinary happened. Their hopes fell through the floor and the old woman closed her eyes, the emptiness of lost hope draining her.

But then it happened. Tilly's eyes began to glow with a brilliant light that shined with every possible color. A sudden gust of wind burst the window shutters open, brushing past Tilly and pulling at everyone's hair.

The wind concentrated, making a link between Tilly and Doc's outstretched hand. She made a small, shuddering gasp before her breath was pulled from her lungs by the rushing air. A light began to stream from her eyes and into his palm, seeming to drain the color and brightness. Finally it all ended with Tilly's eyes a warm chocolate color and Doc was holding a condensed ball of light. It seemed to struggle against him, forcing him to use both hands to keep it contained. Tilly went slack and her grandma supported her as they all watched the light suddenly stop fighting and solidify into a starfruit. The fruit was normal for perhaps a second before it turned a deep blue and was covered in dozens of winding swirls.

In his hand, Doc now held the Wish Wish Fruit.

* * *

 **There you are! You will not believe how long it took to write this chapter. Definitely the longest one I've written to date.**

 **But I hope the effort is not wasted and you all enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think and.**

 **Till next time!**


	20. Preparations

**Hello everybody. Things are going fine on my end, though I am feeling a bit tense with Finals starting in a few days. Speaking of which, that reminds me. Since the end of the semester is so hectic, my update day might change in the coming weeks. If I don't update on Sunday, expect it to happen on Monday. If it doesn't happen then, you are allowed to**

 **But before I open the deluge that is my worrying, let's get on with the story!**

* * *

The ship rocked gently in the open sea, nothing but water and blue skies. The sun beat down with a gentle intensity that whispered promises of sunbathing and luaus. They had chosen this place specifically because it was close enough to a Summer Island to keep the weather balmy but far enough away to remain out of sight. Gulls called nearby, searching for food. One perched itself on the deck but quickly left once it saw there was nothing to eat.

Doc was sitting in the helm room, waiting patiently. The log pose was placed to the side for now, though it still pointed stubbornly to the west. Doc didn't know which island it would lead to. It had reset itself while they were dealing with Rudeus and Tilly and none of them had noticed until they were offshore. But that didn't really matter. They had many eternal poses, all of which lead to some of Doc's more severe patients, the ones that required him to return on regular intervals to insure their health. They had used one such pose to get to the nearby Balba Island, which boasted an impressive island resort that many people all over the Grand Line flock to when they go on vacation. He was an on-call Doctor there. He had made a reputation there before he had become a pirate so the locals trusted him despite his bounty. They rarely called though. Along with their tropical hotels and casinos, they were pretty medically advanced. He only goes there to help during extreme cases like the previous year when a volcano erupted. They needed all the help they could get to tend the wounded and Doc was one of the first ones they called.

Since he could nothing but wait, Doc stared at the box next to him. It was the size of a breadbox though it was much more extravagant. The wood was made of a polished mahogany. The deep color made it look sturdy and unassuming. But to counteract that, the metal clasps and lock were made of silver and gold. The lock was decorated with golden leaves while the clasps and hinges were solid silver, not decorated in any way. This was a treasure chest, no two ways about it. The crew didn't have much in terms of physical wealth, aside from Alec that was, but they weren't completely broke. And on occasion, they would get windfalls such as the money Rook got from Rudeus. What each crew member did with their earnings was up to them, but they all agreed then to spend the money on something they needed. They left the town of extravagance and all its ill-begotten splendor behind and bought that chest from a travelling merchant. They hadn't wanted to spend too much, but at the same time the contents weren't something they could keep in any old box. It held the Wish Wish Fruit.

Doc smiled as the memories flitted across his mind. Alec had been upset when they told him of everything that happened on the island. He begged them to stay an extra day so he could 'take a look around'. They all knew he was going to take everything that wasn't nailed to the floor so they set sail before he had a chance. Tilly and her grandmother went with them to see them off, both grateful beyond measure. They had gone through the town purposefully on their way back to the ship. Bishop and Maya had taken the long way around to avoid the city though. They still didn't trust the inhabitants to keep their hands and wallets to themselves if they saw a mermaid floating around free. Tilly had been upset about that. She had attached herself to Maya's side the moment she was able to walk again, which for the record took about two days of bloodletting and another three days for recovery. Rook and Isaac were surprised how Maya had handled the child. She wasn't rough or hard handed with her like she was with them. Maybe it was _because_ she was a child and it triggered some sort of maternal instinct in Maya. They all shuddered to think of Maya as a mother.

The trip through town had been uneventful…at first. The townsfolk didn't seem to recognize Tilly at first, just looking passed like she was a normal person. Without the glowing eyes, she didn't even register on their radars. But then someone finally took notice. It had been the fruit vendor that charged heinous amounts for his apples. He caused a huge commotion and groveled on his knees, begging for wishes. It took maybe a nanosecond for everyone to remember who Tilly was and to start shouting their wishes at the top of their lungs. A solid five minutes passed before anyone realized that nothing was happening. And the entire time Tilly smiled with the patience of someone far older than her.

It was then that they noticed her eyes, no longer filled with the magic that let her grant wishes. "Sorry!" She said for all of them to hear. "I can't grant wishes anymore." Many fell into despair, falling to their knees and crying. Others refused to believe her and kept wishing. There were even people who got angry and tried to grab at her. Those people were met by Rook and Isaac who subdued them with _vast_ amounts of prejudice.

Trekking through town took longer than they expected. They left during sunrise but they didn't reach the ship until the afternoon. Maya was going to berate them for taking too long, but then Tilly asked for a piggyback ride and she melted. She spent fifteen minutes floating around with Tilly on her back who was having the time of her life. During that time, Doc stocked away the herbs her grandmother promised him. They would come in handy at some point or another. A doctor can never have too much medicine after all.

But then it was time to leave. Doc made one quick call and then they were on their way. They unfurled their sails and pulled up the anchor. The two waved as they departed, wishing them luck and fortune. The wording was odd considering the circumstances but they accepted it nonetheless.

That led to the present day. It had been a week of straight sailing since then, with only occasional stops to get food and supplies. The reason for the hurry was the meeting they were currently waiting for.

Doc smiled. The phone call he had made had been to a friend of his. Someone he could absolutely trust even though he wasn't in the crew. Especially when it came to Devil Fruits.

The sounds of movement caught his attention and pulled him out of his reverie. Since they weren't going anywhere anyway, he decided to get out of the helm room and get some sun. Staying inside too much wasn't healthy after all.

When he opened the door, he was met by the sight of Rook and Maya setting up while Isaac and Alec watched in confusion.

"Anyone want to fill us in on what the fuck is going on?" Isaac asked.

The deck had already been spruced up more than usual. Everything was clean and polished and the two were currently in the process of putting up a canopy. Underneath they would put chairs and tables. There were already lanterns put up all around even though it was only noon. They were preparing for something that the other two didn't know about.

Doc chuckled. "They're getting ready for our guests." He answered. Walking to stand next to them, he gestured at all the preparations. "The crew I contacted have been good friends of ours for a long time. I met there captain before I even became a pirate."

"Wait, they aren't Marines are they?" Alec asked with a bit of panic, referring to Doc's career as a Marine doctor. Sure Bear and his crew had been good to them but he was spooked at the mere mention of the authorities. He didn't like taking the chances that Doc did when it came to trusting the Navy.

"Oh no." Doc assured. "In fact they used to be pirates." Which was very true, but at the same time not. They still _are_ pirates in all but name. But he would leave that for later. He was sure they would want to tell the tale themselves.

Alec visibly relaxed, though he was still wary. There were hundreds of stories of pirates turning against each other in order to get treasure. In fact he was almost positive that was going to happen once they learned about the Devil Fruit. He still thought his captain was crazy for actually _telling_ people about the damn thing, even if they were old friends. He himself almost ate it once he knew what powers it gave. The ability to grant any wish. Oh what he would do with that. The world's riches would be his to take. But then they told him that he couldn't grant his own wishes and his desire fizzled out like a used firecracker.

"What do you mean by 'used to be'?" Isaac suddenly asked. "I didn't think the government rescinded bounties. Once a pirate, always a pirate and all that."

Doc nodded. "True, they don't. Usually that is. But there are...special cases. These guys are one of them." He was trying to describe them without outright doing so. There simply wasn't any way to describe the men that were coming to see them. "In truth, only the captain had a bounty during his pirating days. So the government was more willing than usual to take back his bounty. It might have been different if they had to do it with the entire crew. Too much paperwork."

"So what kind of deal are we talking here?" Alec asked, drawn back to the conversation. "Does he work for them now or something?" He was genuinely curious. Who knew, if something bad happened or he struck it rich and decided to end his pirating career, this kind of information would be useful. When he retired he didn't want to worry about Marines pounding on his door every night.

Doc thought about it for a second. "Well the Seven Warlords have their bounties nullified. But they are also stronger than most other pirates and not just any pirate can become one. Most of them are Devil Fruit users aside from the swordsman Mihawk." He explained.

"Oh man!" Rook exclaimed. He had abandoned the table he was pushing and was now clasping his hands together in almost reverent thought. "Hawks Eyes Mihawk. What I wouldn't give to meet him just once."

Isaac snorted. "Didn't take you for a Mihawk fanboy." He taunted.

Rook scrunched up his face and waved a dismissive hand. "Hell no. I don't give a crap about Mihawk himself. It's his _sword_ I want to see. The Black Sword Yoru, the strongest sword in the world. Oh what I wouldn't give to just touch it!" He literally drooling at the thought of holding the blade.

But then Alec pushed him away. "Ignore the idiot and his swordgasm!" He yelled. "You were talking about bounties?" He said trying to redirect the conversation back.

Doc sweat dropped and laughed a little awkwardly. "Right. Well there are also occasions where a pirate becomes a Marine. They are put on a special kind of parole and pay back their bounty with service to the Navy. But you need something like a sponsor, a Marine who is willing to watch over you during the parole period. Which, as you can imagine, doesn't happen often. The only other time I've heard of pirates getting their bounties nullified is when they perform a special service for the government."

"What kind of special service?" Alec asked suspiciously.

"Well…" Doc hesitated a little. "I haven't personally heard of anything in particular. But there were rumors of pirates secretly working for the Marines. Not directly joining them, but helping. When you join the Marines, you always hear of strange stories like that. Pirates handing over sensitive information or saving a city or sometimes even leading their crew into a trap to effectively trade their friends' lives for their own."

Isaac shuddered. "Shit, man. That just sounds nasty. Who could just turn against their crew like that?"

"I would."

Both Doc and Isaac looked at Alec, surprised and a little revolted by his bold opinion. He shrugged with a wicked grin on his face. "What? If I could save my skin by turning your asses in? Hell yeah I would do that."

"What the fuck is wrong with you!?" Isaac demanded. He grabbed Alec by his shirt and shook him back and forth. He raised his fist to punch him, but Doc grabbed onto his arm and pulled back with all his might.

"No violence, please!" He begged. Yet despite that, Isaac still pulled against Doc to strike, though the captain was just barely able to keep him back.

Alec scowled angrily and grabbed Isaac's own shirt so he could yell back. "Can't you take a joke you dumbass?"

"That shit ain't something to joke about!"

"Not my fault you have no sense of humor!"

"Please stop fighting!"

"I'll shove my sword so far down your throat it'll come out your ass!"

"Like to see you try that with my fist caving in your skull!"

"Guys, stop this!"

The three went back and forth like that. Isaac and Alec shouting and threatening each other with violence with Doc struggling to keep them from getting hurt like a protective nanny. They should have known better than to make that kind of ruckus. Because no sooner had a minute passed before they were interrupted by a crashing sound. They paused their squabble to look over to a very angry Maya standing over the crates she had dropped to get their attention. Shadows loomed over her eyes and her aura was hotter than the sun beating down on them. But the way she was looking at them ran a chill up their spines in fear.

"What…do you think…you are doing?" She asked coldly. This was a bit more pronounced than her usual interventions. She had been in a good mood before their fight broke out. And they had ruined it. So now she was going to make sure they suffered for it.

The three instantly separated and stood stock still. Sweat started leaking out of their pores and they stared at the ground, avoiding her chilling eyes. But even then they knew better than to not offer her an answer. If they just sat there in silence it would just make her more irritated.

"W-W-We were just having a discussion." Alec supplied. He glanced at the others. "Right guys?"

Doc and Isaac nodded rapidly with various forms of agreement. "Just a little chat amongst friends." Doc added.

"It wasn't like we were trying to beat each other up or anything!" Isaac lied. Doc and Alec shot him warning glance, but he ignored them. He cleared his throat as he continued. "I-I was just showing Alec the correct way to strangle someone. Yeah that's it! Just a little demonstration!" He started laughing, impressed by his own ingenuity. What he hadn't noticed was that his two compatriots had gone from scared to downright terrified. The entire crew had learned something about Isaac. He was a terrible liar. He exuded every tell in the book. He was looking down and to the side, he was rubbing his neck with one hand and was putting up his other to hide his mouth while he laughed, which he only did when he lied.

Doc stepped forward, to try and warn his friend what was going to happen to him, but Alec quickly slapped his hand over his mouth and pulled him back slowly. He steeled himself and got them out of Isaac's direct line of sight. Maya hated many things: People who didn't finish their food, people who ignored their chores, drooling…But what she hated almost more than anything else was being lied to. And there was no doubt that she saw right through his charade. Hell, a child could tell when Isaac was lying. And one look at the mermaid confirmed that her cold anger had evolved into a hell storm of fury. So Alec, being ever the opportunist, decided that if he and Doc got out of the way, all of this would land on Isaac which meant he and Doc would be home free. Effectively, he was letting the bandit inadvertently become their scapegoat.

The poor man didn't even see it coming. In one fluid motion, Maya grabbed him by the shoulder and using leverage, threw him into the ocean. He shouted in shock as he flew through the air and into the water. "What the fuck was that for!?" He demanded. But Maya wasn't anywhere to be seen. "The hell did she go…" He wondered. But he would consider it after he got back on deck.

But his punishment didn't end there. Maya had dove in without him noticing. She was staring up at him from underwater as he started swimming back towards the ship. She raised her hands as if she were balancing an urn on top of her head. She stayed like that and spun in a circle. "Mermaid Combat: Pull of the Deep!"

A current formed in the center of Maya's outstretched arms, spinning rapidly in place. She opened her arms and made a throwing motion at Isaac and the ball of spinning water erupted towards the unsuspecting man.

It happened in an instant. One moment he was uneventfully swimming towards the ship and the next a full on whirlpool appeared around him. He was pulled into the center of the pool before he could even realize what was happening.

"Heeelgggllbrrr!" His words were drowned into garbling noise as the whirlpool cycled him in a circle, never letting go and never letting up. He tried to swim against the current, but it was simply too strong. He was submerged many times which only added more panic to the whole situation. He was looking everywhere for a way out. Then he saw Maya. She was at the center of the whirlpool, her outstretched arms acting as the origin point of the technique. She was smirking at him, enjoying his torment.

Something in him just gave up. His mouth fell open and the little air he retained before being pulled under escaped in a flurry of bubbles. He scrambled to try and get back to the surface to get more but Maya's attack was simply too strong for him to escape. There was nothing but whipping water turning him around over and over again until he didn't know which way was what. Eventually his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out.

Only then did Maya decide his punishment was over. She let the whirlpool subside and swiftly swam to the surface. Using an ocean current to give her the extra oomph she needed, she tossed the man back onto the ship, waterlogged and unconscious.

She followed right after, pleased with how things worked out. She looked sharply at Doc and Alec, who were cowering behind Rook for protection. "And what have we learned?" She asked harshly, her pleased smile melting off her features to be replaced with a threatening scowl.

The two stood at attention and shouted in unison, "We learned not to cause a commotion and to never lie to Maya! Please forgive us!"

That made her smile come back. She closed her eyes in satisfaction and went back to the crates she'd dropped. "Good. Now get to work. We still need to finish setting up before they get here."

The two scrambled to obey, but they were stopped as Bishop rose out of Rook's shadow. He had an amused smile on his face as he poked his brother's shoulder and pointed toward the horizon. "Might be too late for that. Look."

Everyone's eyes followed his direction to see a ship sailing towards them. It was small even compared to their ship. It was built in the caravel style with a mermaid carved into the bow. She was holding a harpoon and pointing it towards the sea. There was a crow's nest open to the sky and on a pole sticking out of it was a Jolly Roger. There was a small scar cut vertically into the skull's upper lip. Instead of bones there were two harpoons pointing towards the ocean, just like the mermaid's. In the background was a blue fish standing against the black flag.

Doc, Maya, Rook, and Bishop all smiled excitedly.

"They're here!"

* * *

 **And there you have it folks. Like I said, the update day is going to be fluctuating the next few weeks as I get used to a new schedule. I'll keep you updated on whether or not things become static again.**

 **Till next time!**


	21. A Merchant Playing Pirate

**Hey guys. I have some apologizing to do it seems. I realize I haven't updated in a while. And believe it or not I have a legitimate excuse. Well three actually. The first one is that I graduated. Yay! I had to deal with a boring ceremony but I did it. But then immediately afterwards, the flu decided to punch me in the proverbial stomach. Needless to say, I was out of commission for the week. Still dealing with the recovery actually. And then after THAT I moved which took time and energy I couldn't use on writing.**

 **So there you have it. Do with it as you will. I'm hoping things will calm down in a bit so I can straighten out my schedule. But for the meantime, let's go on with the story!**

* * *

"Ahoy there!"

The ship sailed up next to them and a small crew of three started hoisting the sails and weighing anchor. One man threw a gangplank between the ships and walked aboard, all swagger and smiles. He had brown hair that was starting to grey a little on the top but the man couldn't have been older than forty. He wore tan slacks that clashed with the black leather jacket he wore. There was a twinkle of mischief in his eyes and a small scar was cut vertically on the right side of his upper lip. Must have been where they got the idea for their flag. There was a certain air about the man, maybe it was the laugh lines or the way he looked at them, but they all found themselves relaxing around him.

The crew was silent as he walked up to Doc and raised his arms in a hugging gesture. "Well there he is! The man, the myth, the legend! How are you doing, Doc?"

"Same as always, Dave. Same as always." Doc replied with a smile. He returned the gesture and the two hugged it out, laughing as they did. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Well when you suddenly called us up asking for a favor, how could I refuse?" Dave replied. He smiled wolfishly at him and the rest of the crew. "Looks like you've increased your numbers again." Going over to Alec and Isaac, he outstretched his hands to them with a grin. "Lone Star Dave, captain of the Lone Star Pirates. How's it hangin' fellas?"

Isaac returned the smile and shook his hand. Alec did the same but with hesitation and a raised eyebrow. "Pretty good!" Isaac replied.

Alec studied him. "I've never heard of a 'Lone Star' pirate." He glanced at their flag. "Don't recognize that Jolly Roger either." There was suspicious and mistrust in his voice. It was clear that he wasn't willing to trust this man right off the bat despite how much his captain seemed to like him. He always made sure to be up-to-date on all the bounties issued by the Navy just in case they ran into any other pirates out at sea. But he had never heard of these guys. Which meant they weren't what they said they were which meant he couldn't trust them.

"Well technically, the Lone Star Pirates don't exist anymore. Remember Alec, I told you that they _used_ to be pirates." Doc told him. "The government rescinded their bounties."

Dave laughed out loud and turned around to show them his back. "Yeah, those bastards thought they could erase my legacy. But I showed them!" To the astonishment of Alec and Isaac, he had a large bounty poster printed on his back. It was his face smiling at the camera, the scar still visible. In one hand he held a pen and in the other he held a fruit. A devil fruit to be specific. It looked like a purple orange covered in the swirls that marked one of the mystical fruits. Even back then he still wore the leather jacket, though they doubted it had the bounty printed on the back yet. According to the shirt, he had been only worth 90,000 beri. He had only been slightly more notorious than Isaac.

Isaac busted out laughing, pointing at the bounty but Alec looked confused. "So…why do you wear a bounty on your back? Doesn't that make it a bit hard to move around? The Marines would be on you in a second."

Dave shook his head. "Nah, man. See, they get all riled up but then they find out that there isn't a standing bounty on my head. Plus I never really do anything that gets me thrown in jail so there's nothing they can do about it." He started laughing. "It's like I'm giving them the old middle finger."

Alec sighed. He had a feeling that this man was going to be a headache. But while he had his attention, he might as well ask what he was really curious about. "So I know you _used_ to have a bounty. What I want to know is how you got it removed."

With a sigh that mimicked Alec's, Dave patted the other man's shoulders. "All in good time, compadre. All in good time." He turned back towards his ship and started waving at his crew. "Hey! How long are you guys going to pussyfoot around? Get your asses over here." Even though it looked like he was scolding his crew, he sounded jovial and excited. There was no malice or anger in his voice.

There was an accompaniment of grunts and half-comital 'yes sir's' before three men came stomping across the gangplank. Dave walked over and started introducing them. "You two haven't met my crew yet. This one's Matt, my first mate." He slapped the shoulder of a medium sized man with feathery brown hair. His eyes were a bit droopy but his jaw was strong. His body wasn't hardened by muscle like your typical warrior was but he was still built enough to handle himself. The rifle strapped across his back placed him as a marksman. He wore a green shirt that had a fish printed on the front, very similar to their flag.

Matt nodded his head at them. "Hey there fellas. Nice to meet ya." He said to Isaac and Alec. He looked at the rest of the crew and gave a small chuckle when he saw Bishop. "Well if it isn't my favorite stooge. Still scaring small children when you take your mask off?"

Alec and Isaac were shocked by the way he talked down to Bishop. They didn't know anyone who had the stones to treat him like that…aside from Maya but she's an exception. But Bishop just gave a small smile and walked up to shake his hand. He might have squeezed harder than was necessary in a bit of friendly rivalry. "You know I am. But then at least children only get scared. As I recall, you got sick when you first saw it so what does that make you?"

Matt let go and grabbed Bishop in a headlock and started rubbing his knuckles against the top of his head. "Look at this guy! When did you get ballsy enough to talk back to me?" He asked in good humor.

Isaac yanked Rook and put his hand up to cover his mouth in a whisper. "Oi. What the hell is going on? I thought the scar thing was a touchy subject for Bishop. So why is he all chummy with that guy?"

Rook shook his head and laughed as Bishop pulled out a pistol and blank facedly pointed it at Matt's skull until he let him go. "Matt's allowed to get away with it." Rook explained. "He's Bishop's mentor. He taught him how to shoot and use pistols. He even gave him tips on how to use his Devil Fruit power back when he was still getting the hang of it."

Isaac backed off, still looking a bit perturbed but he didn't say anything else. If Bishop was happy with it, then he would be too. Even if it was really weird.

As the two shared friendly banter, Dave moved to the next one in line. He was a heavy set man who had a few good inches on Matt. He had a curly light brown, almost blonde, hair that rose into something close to an afro. He wore glasses that perpetually had the sun glinting off them, masking his eyes. He had a light blue button up shirt and brown khaki pants. His stomach fell over the belt line of his pants. He had a lazy smile on his face that brought to mind images of napping and slacking off. This was a man who didn't have a serious bone in his body. "This is Bobby. He keeps an eye on things when the other asshats are messing around." Dave explained.

Bobby gave a clown-like laugh. "Hey Rook, look what I can do?" He had multiple knives on his belt and he pulled them out and started juggling them. It was rather impressive since he was arcing seven knives in a perfect circle. But that sparked a jolt of irritation in Rook. "Hey! I made those for stabbing! What did I say about juggling my knives!?" He demanded.

But Bobby didn't listen. He just juggled on. "Well I've got nothing here to stab!" He explained. "So…might as well juggle."

"Aaaah!" Rook jumped to try and take the knives from him, but Bobby changed his juggling pattern so that the weapons arched just out of his reach.

"Gaaah! Give them here!" The two went back and forth like that, Bobby juggling and Rook doing his best to stop him.

While they bickered, Dave went his last crewmate. "This one's Drew. Keep your eye on him, he's a shifty bastard." Drew's black hair was cropped short. He wore a burgundy red shirt that had a single button on the collar that was open, revealing his collar bone and throat. His pants were a plain black but they had stains on them. He had a lit cigarette in the corner of his mouth, the red light faintly glowing. He tilted his head up and nodded cockily at Maya, making an appreciative sound. "Mmm, mmm. Looking fine as always, Maya. Looking _fine_." He took a drag from his cigarette and looked her up and down with a wry grin.

Alec and Isaac froze. There was no chance this wasn't going to devolve into a bloodbath. One of Doc's patients had said something like that to her a while back. She beat him so bad that he ended up back in Doc's care with practically every bone of his body broken. So their jaws hit the floor when Maya just smiled back at him.

"The only reason I'm not stabbing you in the eye with my knife right now is because _you_ arecooking dinner tonight." She replied with a sickly sweet smile. The usual edge to her tone was gone, despite the threat.

In these kinds of situations, most men would be quivering in their boots. Even without the knife behind her words, her threats were always sincere. But Drew just rolled his shoulders and wiggled his eyebrows. "Love a lady with fire in her." He quipped.  
And I figured you'd be after my cooking again. Which is why I came prepared." He blew some smoke out of his mouth and started pulling a large grill on wheels across the gangplank.

"Barbeque!" Isaac shouted happily. "Oh hell yeah, we haven't had barbeque in ages!" He jumped excitedly before dodging below deck towards the kitchen. "Gimme a minute I'm gonna grab my favorite!"

"Whatever, dog." Drew responded as he set up the grill. The piece of equipment was immaculately clean, not a spot of grease or a lump of gristle to be found. Yet despite that, he still brushed it with a thick brush. When it passed his inspection, he finally began getting the fire started.

Doc, Rook, and Bishop all perked up when the saw the grill. They had hoped he would be doing dinner and now that he was preparing it, they were practically drooling. Maya shook her head at them and rolled her eyes at their reaction. Alec was skeptical. "Is he that good a cook?" He asked her questioningly.

The mermaid shrugged. "In a way, he's better than me. He's produced dishes that I could never top." That took him aback. Maya's cooking was top notch. He had never eaten anything she made that wasn't delicious. The fact that this man was better than her was almost beyond belief. But then Maya continued, a bit ruefully. "But…there _is_ a catch."

Just then, Isaac jumped back on deck, a package in his hands that was wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string. He ripped it open and slapped a large steak on the still warming grill. "I like mine medium-rare. And don't skimp on the barbeque sauce."

Drew inhaled a long drag from his cigarette, burning it down to the butt. He took it from his mouth and exhaled through both his mouth and nose, causing smoke to come out of both. He looked at the meat, blinked, and then looked at Isaac. "What the fuck am I gonna do with this?" He asked scornfully, gesturing at the steak. He shook his head in denial and put out his cigarette on the moist meat. It made a hissing sound as the heat met the moisture. Isaac would have been less shocked if the chef had stood up and shot him.

Then he grabbed the steak and tossed it overboard, the cigarette still in it. "Get this shit out of here!" With a cry of dismay, Isaac ran to the side of the ship and reached out for the beef. But he was too late. At that point, all he could do was watch it sink forlornly.

Alec, who was watching, was shocked at the aggressive reaction. Maya simply sighed and shook her head. "He won't cook beef. He won't cook pork or chicken. All he can and will cook…" Drew pulled a cooler from across the ship and opened. Licking his lips, he rubbed his hands together, reached in, pulled out a full side of salmon and dropped it on the grill. "…is fish."

"…fish?"

"Fish." She confirmed. "Every time he tries cooking anything else, it comes out charcoal. Even soup! So instead of trying to make things that are impossible for him, he sticks to seafood cuisine. Luckily small things like fruits and vegetables can still be added to his dishes so he isn't completely hopeless. He's become the world's best seafood chef." There was a hint of admiration behind the annoyance in her words. It was clear that she respected his cooking, but at the same time it was frustrating that he couldn't broaden his skills.

As the grill fired up and heated the salmon, the aroma filled the air, wetting their appetites and making them drool. It would take a minute for it to cook so they all had time to relax and enjoy the sunshine and breeze. Well, all of them but the two captains that is. While everyone settled in for a nice evening and a delicious meal, the two slipped into the helm room and out of sight of the others.

Doc walked over to the table and picked up the ornate box. Dave watched, all the joking and lightheartedness left behind. "So this is the one you called me about?" He asked. Even his tone was serious. Time to get down to business.

Doc nodded and opened the lock. It revealed the blue starfruit that had become the Wish Wish Fruit. Dave looked at Doc for permission. Doc nodded and he picked the fruit up out of the box. He examined it from all angles, carefully making sure he didn't bring it too close to his mouth or to accidentally tear or bruise it. "I don't recognize it from the book of known Devil Fruits. But if I'm to judge, I'd say it is a Paramecian" Dave guessed. "Do you know what kind of power it has?" Dave asked. "You were pretty discreet on the Transponder Snail." He slowly put it back in the box. Doc shut it and placed it back on the table, locking it again.

Doc chewed his lip before answering. This kind of power wasn't something talked about lightly. He had been extra careful not to divulge any information regarding it, using a code that Dave had established to let him know that he had acquired a Devil Fruit. Dave was more than just an ex-pirate. He was a Devil Fruit salesman. More of them had passed through his hands than any other person alive. It was like he had a sixth sense for locating them. He had seen so many that he was the authority on them. If there was a Fruit you wanted to get rid of, this was the man to go to. But even so, that didn't mean nobody would be listening in on his conversations. At any given time, at least three different Marine agencies were listening in on Dave's calls. And if any of them were to get their hands on this fruit, it would spell disaster.

"It's called…The Wish Wish Fruit." He finally answered.

Dave froze. There was a long pause as he processed what he just heard. "Wish…Wish…" He repeated slowly. "Are you saying that…"

"Yes. The user has the power to grant wishes." Doc confirmed. "There was…a little girl on an island a week's journey from here. She'd eaten the fruit by accident and didn't even know what her powers were. But when they were stumbled upon…well, the townsfolk treated her as a resource instead of a person." He shook his head sadly. "You should have seen that place, Dave. It was filled with all the riches you could ever want and more. The people there were beyond wealthy…beyond greedy. The girl's grandmother was begging us to help them. They wanted the fruit out of their lives."

Dave looked at the box, listening to the story. "Since _you_ have the fruit now, something must have happened to this girl." He knew Doc's feelings when it comes to children and their care. "Sorry for your loss." He said softly.

Doc shook his head, a smile coming to his lips. "Oh don't worry." He said quickly. "The girl is alive and well. See, we _wished_ the fruit out of her."

That took Dave by surprise. He had never heard of a fruit that could be removed with the user still alive. But then again he had never heard of a fruit like this before. "A fruit that can grant any wish…" He muttered.

Doc could see thoughts starting to take hold. It was easy to be lured in by the powers of the fruit, easy to be tempted. Before those thoughts could take root, he needed to intervene. "Dave, listen to me." He put his hands on his shoulders, putting himself between Dave and the fruit. "That fruit is dangerous. We were lucky that the people on that island wanted to keep it for themselves. Imagine what the world would be like if they had broadcasted the news." Dave finally took his eyes away from the direction of the box and into Doc's. He had been so caught up in ways to use the fruit that he hadn't considered that. With all the fruits he'd handled, this was the first one to make him lower his guard. But Doc's words were slowly pulling him out of it. "In the wrong hands, this fruit could destroy…everything. We dodged a bullet that those people were just greedy. Imagine what would have happened if they used this power to _kill_. The government would use it to kill all pirates, pirates would use it to kill the government. I mean, it would take only one psychotic person to wish death upon the whole world and we don't know if that fruit would grant it!" He let go of Dave and took a step back. "I didn't call you to _give_ you the fruit, Dave. I called you…to get rid of it."

Dave's brow furrowed. "You can't just get rid of a fruit." He told him. "If we destroy it, it'll just reincarnate somewhere else. We don't know where, we don't know when but it would."

Doc nodded in agreement. "Which is why we can't destroy it. We need to…I don't know, bury it somewhere."

Dave put a hand to his chin in thought. "Maybe…Maybe…" He glanced one more time at the box. All the promises it whispered, all the power it offered. Doc was right. This truly was a fruit that was too dangerous to be released. "In the Calm Belt there is a stretch of ocean theorized to be the deepest trench in the world." He explained. "Fifteen years ago, the government sent a probe out to see what was down there…it still hasn't reached bottom. The only thing they've been able to confirm is that it hosts one of the most violent nests of Sea Kings they've ever seen. Luckily for them, they crafted the probe out of Seastone so it is ignored by the damn things." He nodded, more to himself than anyone else. "I'll take the chest and construct a Seastone case around it. We'll drop it into the center of that trench."

The plan was solid. The Seastone would ensure that the fruit wasn't eaten inadvertently by any of the Sea Kings. It would also keep it safe from being crushed by the increasing pressure as it sank.

"Nobody will ever see this fruit again."

* * *

 **There you are folks. Again I do apologize for the wait you had to endure. I can only promise that I'll do my best to make sure nothing like this happens again.**

 **Till next time.**


	22. The Bounty Tale

**Hello everyone. How are you all doing? Good, good. Summer has been treating me well but on a side note, I never want to go to Chicago ever again. Thrice blasted city…**

* * *

The ship was filled with cheer and chatting laughter. The lamps were lit, the sun was setting, and the food was ready to be eaten. Drew led over a cart with a dozen plates on it. He had a white towel over his shoulder which he used to wipe his hands before serving the table. With each dish, he put plates down with the most delicious looking seafood they had ever seen. "Okay, folks. We got salmon, halibut, cod, tilapia, swordfish, and this weird octopus looking thing…I don't know what the hell it is but we caught it on the way over."

Maya chuckled. "A sea creature that even you've never cooked? I find that surprising. You've cooked and tasted every single sea dish imaginable." She shook her head and wrinkled her nose. "Sorry, but I'm going to pass. Let someone else be your guinea pig."

That caught Bishop's attention. He had been debating with Matt about the proper care for a damaged ammo cartridge, but the octopus caught his eye. "A new dish." He said simply. While the other shied away from the odd looking mollusk, he tucked a napkin into his shirt and picked up his fork and knife. "Bring it to me."

Everyone raised an eyebrow, even Drew. Rook was the only one to realize the danger. Just as Drew was picking up the plate, he jumped up and pushed it back down. "You don't want to do that!" He shouted hastily. It was his turn to be looked at incredulously. "Listen, you _don't_ want Bishop trying something like this." He warned. He could feel Bishop staring a hole into him, but he shook it off. "When my brother tries something new, things get _weird_ sometimes."

"The fuck do you mean?" Isaac demanded. "What's wrong with a guy expanding his taste buds?"

"You don't understand!" Rook shouted. "The last time he tried something new, it was on our home island." He shivered and a haunted look shook his features. "There was a species of deer that can only be found there. Bishop managed to hunt one and cooked it on night. He liked it so much that he ate nothing else! We didn't think much of it but meal after meal, day after day, he had nothing but that deer. It got to the point that Bishop single-handedly hunted it to near extinction!" He looked into their eyes imploringly. "By the time we realized just how much damage he was doing, there was only a single herd left of the poor things. We had to make it illegal to hunt them otherwise they would die out."

Doc looked uncomfortable. "I find it hard to believe that one person could do something like that, especially Bishop." He looked at the others. "I mean, he doesn't eat all that much."

The others muttered agreement, Bishop never did eat too much during meals. But the more they thought about it the more they realized that his plate was always sparkling clean by the time he was done with it. "He's not a glutton but once he finds something he likes, he chases after it until nothings left. Hell, we had to put seven guards plus a master tactician to protect the remaining herd from him. Because every goddamn night he would raid the compound for a late night snack."

"I will neither confirm nor deny this." Bishop commented through a mouthful of food.

Rook ignored him and continued. "That being said, I think it is a good idea if we limited his access to new dishes until we're certain that he isn't going to destroy the population."

Bobby giggled, a piece of cod sticking out of his mouth. "Huhuhu! I think we're too late." He pointed towards the octopus with his fork.

Rook looked down and jumped back in surprise when he saw Bishop's torso sticking out of the table. While Rook had everyone's attention, he decided to act while they were distracted and get his dinner. He was currently chewing through the last tentacle, leaving the plate spotless. "It's chewy like bubblegum but it doesn't stick to your teeth." He explained. Doc's crew were taken aback by his audacity while Dave's crew were doing their best not to choke on their food they were laughing so hard. Drew was actually listening intently to his report. "The taste is unusual but not unpleasant. It's not dissimilar to normal octopus, but more like pork dipped in soy sauce." He swallowed the last of it and sunk back into the table, reappearing near his seat. Sitting back down, he wiped his mouth with the napkin and crossed his legs. "An excellent dish. My compliments."

"You got it, man." Drew said cheerily. He lit another cigarette and took a long pull. "I don't think grilling is the way to go for this one though. Maybe next time I'll try broiling or maybe drying it out like a snack."

Bishop perked up. "Good idea. Send me some if you have any extra and I'll try it."

"Oh god. This is how it starts." Rook said mournfully. He pitied the poor creatures if Bishop ever learned where they lived.

Alec leaned forward and poked his knife towards Dave. "Okay I've waited long enough. Time to tell the story of how you got your bounty removed."

Dave's crew all grinned and went back to their food. Dave himself kicked his feet onto the table and leaned back in his chair. "Oh man. Now here's a story. See, back in my day, I started off as a small time pirate in West Blue." He started. He stared up into the stars, imagining them in different shapes to tell the story. "I didn't have much going for me. I had no crew and only a little dingy to call my ship." He poked his temple. "I'm not much in a fight, but I'm smart. I never tried to take on anyone. Never tried to cause trouble. I was a pirate for the romance of it, not the plundering or pillaging."

He closed his eyes and made an appreciative noise. " _Man_ did I come across some fine ladies. But I never stayed in the same place for long. I managed to sail my sorry ass all the way to Logue Town. That's where things really turned up for me. See, they had recently had a change in command. The soldiers were still getting used to the head-honcho that was stationed there so they weren't really organized. In a fit of adventure I decided to sneak in, just to poke around and see what they were hiding in their storage rooms. Well you'll never guess what I found. Deep in a corner where there was nothing but cobwebs and spiders, there was this old chest. It was hidden underneath a ton of boxes and crates and shit but I managed to dig it out. I opened it up with a crowbar and you'll never guess what I found. A devil fruit."

Alec and Isaac perked up. The others had heard the story already but this was new info for them. Noticing that he had their attention, he started to ham it up a bit. "Some bastard must have hidden it there. Must have been waiting for just the right time to sell it and make a mint. Either they got killed in the line of duty or they were reassigned and they never got a chance to retrieve it before they left. Thing must have been sitting there for years for all the dust that was covering the chest."

"Did you eat it?" Alec asked curiously. Dave hadn't shown any powers, but that didn't mean he didn't have them. Maybe they were subtle like Bishop's.

Dave raised a hand like a cup and paused for dramatic affect. He scrunched his eyes in concentration and his hand started shaking. Both Isaac and Alec held their breath, waiting for something to happen. And just as they were on the edge of their seats, Dave opened his hand and laughed at them. "Sorry kids, I'm just a plain old human." Their jaws dropped. Alec bristled in annoyance and Isaac blushed with embarrassment that he had been played like that, which only made Dave laugh harder. "Oh man." He wheezed. "You should have seen your faces. That _never_ gets old, right guys?"

He looked over at Rook, Bishop, and Doc and all three of them blushed and avoided eye contact. They weren't willing to admit it, but they had fallen for the same antic the other two just had. Dave built them up and then let them fall in a spectacular fashion.

"No I didn't eat it." Dave answered. "I hid it in my coat and ran the hell out of there. I left that place as fast as I could and set sail for a nearby island with a decent marketplace. Sold the fruit to some lord." He tilted his head towards his boat. "That boat is what I bought with that money. It's small enough so that I could steer it on my own without too much difficulty. After that I sailed into the Grand Line. And boy has the place done good for me."

Doc chuckled. "'Good' might not be strong enough a word." He explained. "What he is failing to mention is that Dave is now the leader of a very successful business."

Dave waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah but I couldn't have made it without some help." His crew grinned. "Eventually the Marines found me out. Not sure how, but they took offence that I stole something so precious from them. Probably the lord I sold the fruit too. I explained the story to him so he must have passed it along to the Marines. I ran for a while, picking up cargo here and there. Met my first mate here on one of the first islands I visited on the Grand Line. Picked up the others here and there, scattered around."

He shook his head. "But I'm getting off track. To get back to your question, I bought my bounty. See, as I traveled I developed a knack for finding Devil Fruits. I'm not sure if it was by luck or what, but I've seen more of those fruits than just about anyone around." He winked at Alec. "Some people like to say that I've developed a sixth sense for detecting them. Who knows if they're right. All I know is that when the government found out about my business of finding and selling the things, they offered me a deal. In return for removing my bounty, I would have to make them preferential clients. Whenever I get my hands on a fruit, I'm supposed to report to them with the specs and a price. If they're interested, I have to sell it to them. They won't just take it. They're willing to keep good business with me since it is such valuable merchandise. If they don't believe the fruit will be useful, I'm free to take it wherever I want."

He chuckled conspiratorially. "But to be honest, those bastards are lucky if I show them a third of my cargo." He said with a fake whisper. "Seventy-five percent of what I find, the Navy doesn't even know about. And they don't go asking questions because of how rare it is to find them." He gestured towards the cabin. "Take that Wish Wish fruit for example. No way in _hell_ am I telling a soul about that one. I'm going to chain it up and drop it in the ocean with no one the wiser. But if I were to find a relatively harmless fruit, I'm happy to show it to the higher ups of the government. Not going to lie, it is pretty damn amusing to watch the different divisions fight over who gets what power. Like dogs wrestling with a bone."

Alec laughed. The image was pretty funny in his head. Then he glanced at the crew. "So what about these guys? Do they have any powers from all those fruits you find?"

As a one, the crew shook their heads. "No way." Matt answered, his droopy eyes never leaving his fillet of salmon. "We know the pros of eating a Devil Fruit, but we all decided we would go without. Can you imagine how much it would suck ass if we fell into the ocean? No sir, I'm not trading my ability to swim on a planet that's mostly water just so I can throw fireballs or some shit around." He shook his head and took a juicy bite. "Mm mmm. If I get into any problems with some Devil Fruit user, I'll just jump my ass into the ocean and swim the hell away. And there's not a god damn thing they would be able to do about it."

Just then, Matt's plate was sucked into the table. He looked around shocked until it reemerged in front of Bishop. He took a big bite of the fish and looked at Matt pointedly. "I don't know. I'm quite happy with my powers. It was a good trade off."

The entire table laughed at that. And that laughter echoed into the night as the moon shined bright in the sky.

* * *

 **I know this isn't a terribly long chapter, but I had to go to Chicago to help my sister move last weekend and I'm about to go on a three day camping trip so I've been pressed for time. It was either this or nothing. I do hope you understand.**

 **Till next time!**


	23. The After Punishment

**Let's get this show on the road!**

* * *

Doc and Dave were sipping from mugs of coffee in the morning light. The party had gone well into the night and they were the only ones to recover so far. Then again, they were also the only ones to show restraint. After they had all had their fill of dinner, Matt had broken out three barrels of alcohol and insisted that none of them were resting until all three were drained. The resulting drinking contests had landed Isaac in the infirmary with alcohol poisoning. Rook had almost been taken there himself but his body was more tolerant.

The smith was currently passed out on top of one of the barrels. Drool was leaking copiously from his mouth and he still held a mug in each hand. One of said mugs was positioned just beneath his head, thus catching the drool. Doc was going to make sure that Rook would be the one to wash it. Just looking at it slosh around in the container made his stomach shake.

The other two barrels weren't far from him. But they were capsized and someone's legs were lying on top of them as if the person had tripped over them and them and was knocked out by the impact. Said person was Bobby. From the items scattered around him, a pistol, a knife, a banana, and a whole fish skeleton, they guessed that he was in the middle of a juggling act when he tripped and clocked out for the night.

Drew, Matt, and Bishop were sitting on stools in a circle and slouched forward. The resulting scene was the three of them on the brink of crashing to the floor but their heads had smashed together in the center and kept them from falling down. Matt and Drew were snoring loudly but Bishop was quiet. He was deep asleep though so the disturbing sounds coming from his head mates didn't wake him. Although he did have a disturbed look on his face. Doc wondered whether he was having a nightmare or if even in his slumber he knew his current position and was displeased by it. Either way, that didn't stop Dave from going on deck with a camera and snapping a picture of the trio. He was trying hard not to laugh and wake them but he was shaking with the attempt.

Doc shook his head in amusement and took another sip from his mug. He saw a single shoe hanging over the edge of the crow's nest above and assumed that Alec was attached to the other end. He was mildly impressed that the man had managed to climb up there as drunk as he had been last night. The thief had almost kept up with Rook and Isaac.

That led him to wondering where the last two were. He scanned the deck for them but couldn't see them anywhere. Worry gnawed at his heart but he kept it at bay. There were several boxes scattered around deck and the dinner table was upturned and blocking him from seeing everything. Putting his cup on a rail he went out and searched. He went passed Dave who was taking pictures of them all in their drunken stupors and checked behind several of the boxes. It wasn't until he checked behind the table that he found them and he immediately froze in his tracks, blood draining from his face and his heart sinking into his boots.

Maya was lying face down and her hair was brushed to the side, revealing her bear back. He was glad she was sleeping on her stomach and wasn't revealing herself to the whole ship but he still rushed over to her and draped his lab coat over her like a blanket, desperately trying not to wake her. That done, he scanned frantically for her bikini top.

He was dismayed when he found it. Behind Maya, Drew lay with the happiest smile any man could have. His skull was caving in a section of the railing. Some force must have launched him there. And given what was on his possession, Doc could guess what that force was. Or 'who' in this case. Gripped in his hand victoriously was Maya's red bikini top. He would have normally gone to help him and check for injuries…but in this case he probably deserved it. The scene played out perfectly in his mind. Drew imbibed enough liquid courage to rally a Marine fleet and then snuck up behind Maya when nobody was paying attention. When she was distracted, he snuck up behind her and untied her top. He snatched it away as it fell and when she turned in surprise, he got an eyeful of her exposed breasts. Maya must have been pretty drunk herself because she hit him once, making him crash into the railing before she passed out. The suddenness of the turn and the attack must have sent her off balance and tumbling to the floor. Drew dodged a bullet. Maya liked to drink every now and then but she couldn't hold her liquor. If she'd been in full control of her faculties, he would most definitely be dead…though that was still a possibility.

Seeing it as the only way to save his friend's life, he crept over to Drew and reached for the top. Getting closer, he noticed that he had dry blood trailing from his nose. A nose bleed, no doubt caused by the sight he'd seen. Doc pulled on the top, but Drew wouldn't let go. It was surprising he could keep such a firm grip even in his sleep. So it took him a minute or two to finally pry the fabric from him. Hopefully Maya wouldn't noticed the wrinkles he's caused by gripping it so tightly all night.

That step done, he silently returned to Maya. He needed to position it around her in a way that made it look like it had just fallen off instead of being stolen. Then they just had to hope she didn't remember last night well enough to seek bloody retribution. He tried various positions lying it next to her, but none of them seemed natural enough. The best thing to do was to put it back on her. But that would require moving her. Which would wake her. Which would be so many kinds of bad.

He was crouched over her, trying to decide what to do when someone suddenly yanked his coat off her. He looked up in surprise when he heard the click of a button and a flash of light. Fear gripped his heart. Standing in front of him, holding his coat, was Dave. He had the most devilish smile conceived by mankind as a picture was printed out of the camera's front. It showed Doc standing over a nude Maya clutching her bikini in his hands with, his mouth and eyes open in surprise.

"Good lord, no." Doc aid, barely audible in fear and understanding. "Dave." He licked his lips and raised his voice to a hoarse whisper. "Dave please..."

Dave chuckled evilly. "Don't mind me. Just keep doing what you're doing, man." He whistled a little tune as he plucked the photo from the dispenser and waved it at him. "Just gonna keep this in my pocket for when I need it."

Doc lunged at him, grasping for the damning blackmail. But Dave saw that coming a mile away. He flung the coat at Doc to distract him and ran like hell below deck. And while Doc wasn't a fighter, he still had good reflexes. He slapped the coat behind him before it could obscure his vision. He couldn't risk shouting out and waking everyone, but he couldn't let Dave get away with the picture. So the only sounds on deck were the scuffling of his feet and Dave's fading laughter as he retreated further and further into the ship.

For a moment, all was quiet. Not even the gulls were out squawking. Doc's coat had landed halfhazardly on Maya, covering her back well enough to keep her from getting cold. Then there was a stirring of movement. Maya's tail swayed back and forth as she began to shake off her slumber. She unconsciously pulled the coat closer and huddled under it. _This smells nice…_ Her eyes snapped open when she realized what she just thought. It took maybe a millisecond for her to put together what she was cuddling under. She jolted up, a heavy blush reddening her cheeks and ears. The coat fell away from her back as she sat up and felt a breeze. Looking down, it took another moment for her to comprehend that she was naked.

"Where the FUCK is my top!?"

* * *

Doc and Dave were now kneeling in front of Maya, who was sitting judiciously in Doc's chair in the examination room. She regained her top, but it was partially hidden. She was wearing Doc's coat over it, giving her the air of a stern doctor. In her hands she mildly held the photograph Dave took. Make that a stern, _angry_ doctor.

Doc had, for some reason, been let off with a simple jaw jarring slap. Her hand mark still firmly glowed on his cheek. Dave hadn't been let off that easily. His two black eyes were swollen shut, there was a large lump protruding from his skull, his lip had split which still leaked blood, and there were several lacerations that Maya hadn't let be tended to until he had squirmed for a good while.

Neither of them were looking up at her. Outside, Matt, Rook, and the others were fighting for space to see what would happen to their captains. Even Isaac had gotten over his alcohol poisoning to witness the event. Though there was a face missing.

After a long pause under her judging gaze, Dave finally spoke up. ""Wh-What did you do with Drew?" He asked hesitantly. He was honestly scared, but he was still a captain. He needed to make sure his crew was safe.

Her eyes flicked over to him, making him flinch. She let him sweat for a few beats before answering in a deceptively calm voice, "Thinking about what he's done. At the bottom of the ocean."

The captain gulped the frog from his throat. "Then…let me go get him."

Maya's tail twitched, making him flinch back and close his eyes, expecting some sort of punishment. But Maya just said pleasantly, "You can…in twenty minutes."

Dave almost jumped to his feet. "Twenty!? But humans can't-"

"Then you better hope he's been practicing holding his breath!" The calms waters suddenly turned to ice, her gaze as frigid as an iceberg. The room temperature lowered about ten degrees and even the crew were starting to question whether it was wise to stick around.

Maya smothered her cold anger beneath another calm exterior. But none of them questioned the tempest that was brewing inside her.

It was around that time that Doc found his voice again. "Maya…we told you the story. You know the circumstances of…" his eyes drifted to the photo, "well you know them. So why…"

"Are you being punished?" She finished. He nodded tensely and she gave him the smallest of smiles. "Because, _dear_ doctor, examples need to be made." Her eyes drifted to the crowding crews, who all suddenly found various parts of the ship very interesting and worth study. "People need to know that if something like this happens again…there will be _punishment_." To emphasize, she crushed the picture in her hand and dropped it in a waste bin. Taking a match box from the desk next to her, she lit one and tossed it in afterwards. It didn't take long for the photo to catch and burn. They all watched as the scene burned away into melted plastic and ash.

Once it was completely gone, she stood up, the bubble ring almost concealed beneath Doc's lab coat. "Now then. This whole ordeal has given me a headache and I feel stressed." She grabbed Dave's chin and forced him to meet her gaze. "I need a place to relax. Any place close by that you would recommend?" It was a loaded question and they all knew it. The wrong answer would end…poorly.

Dave visibly shook. He stammered around, but with each passing moment, Maya's grip grew tighter and tighter. "The Big Race!" He practically shouted, finally grasping to something in his memory. The pressure on his stopped but it didn't lessen. "South of here," he explained through clenched teeth, "is a place called Long Run Island. Every year they hold a festival where the entire island participates in a race to see who is the fastest."

Maya raised an eyebrow and started applying pressure again. "You expect me…to run in a race?" She asked, looking down at her tail.

Dave tried to shake his head and his eyes bugged out. "No no no! It's a _festival_. The king himself uses the royal treasury to merchants and entertainment from all over the Grand Line. The whole thing takes three days of fun and games and then on the last day is the race. Visitors aren't even allowed to participate. Only watch and gamble."

Maya looked at him stoically, thinking it over. Everyone held their breath until she finally released the captain and turned to hers. "Go ahead and plot the course, Captain." She said with a smile. "I'm sure Dave will be more than happy to supply us with what we need to get to Long Run…"

Taking the hint, Dave jumped to his feet. "Yes! As it happens I've got an eternal pose there!" The two retreated as fast as they could, their respective crews giving them room to make their escape.

"You!" They all jumped and turned to Maya, who was glaring at them. "Go get Drew." She commanded. "If you're lucky, he'll still be breathing."

* * *

 **There you have it! This chapter was really fun to write. I very much enjoyed it.**

 **(Bows) Please let me know your thoughts or criticisms. Till next time!**


	24. A Bumpy Beginning

**To the next adventure, here we go!**

* * *

Their vacation wasn't going well. They were out at sea and the weather had taken a definite turn for the worse. Figures as much. They had been enjoying such nice weather for too long. Now the Grand Line was striking at them with a vengeance. Just two hours from their destination, thunder crashed and lightning struck. The waves surged and the winds billowed and threw rain at them with all their might. Twice they were almost capsized already. Once by a tornado like gust and the other by a tidal wave. And no matter what they did, water sloshed freely across the deck with enough power behind it to knock the crew off their feet if they didn't brace themselves.

Alec and Isaac were wrestling with the sails. The storm had hit them so suddenly that they didn't have time to furl them. Now they were paying for that. Their muscles screamed with each gust as they fought with what little time they had to get those sails up. But each time, the wind would rip them back down before they finished.

"What the HELL is wrong with this ocean!?" Isaac shouted, more to the storm than to anyone else.

But Alec managed to catch it and ruefully pushed his drenched hair out of his face. "This is surprising to you? And you've been sailing the Grand Line for _how_ long?" He laughed scornfully. "This storm is just a baby compared to the horror stories that come from the New World. Better toughen up or you aren't going to last out here before some sea monster gobbles you up!"

His ego challenged, Isaac tightened his fists and clenched his jaw. "We'll see about that, pansy!" Though they bantered with bravado, they both knew that they wouldn't keep this up for long. If they didn't get those sails up soon it was only a matter of time before they pulled them into the drink.

Down below, Rook and Bishop were running through the inner workings of the ships with nails and boards. They were lucky enough to not be pelted with rock or run aground by coral, but that didn't stop the sea from ripping them apart at the seams. It was probably their own fault for not getting the ship checked more frequently, but the storm didn't help. On every level and in every room, tears and holes opened up, letting in more water that threatened to sink them.

"I know we're pirates." Bishop said over the thunder and his brother's hammering as he held the board in place. "But we should be less frugal when it comes to our ship in the future."

Rook's reply came muffled. With his hands busy with the hammer, he had to hold the nails with his teeth. "Well you know Doc." He said after putting in a nail with a series of pounds. "He's all gung-go for medicine and everything else gets put on the backburner." He stopped and they went on to the next hole that was letting in a gush of seawater. Bishop positioned the wood board and pressed against the surge with a certain degree of difficulty. "I'm more surprised that Maya forgot than Doc. She's the one that usually keeps him straight on these sort of things." He added. Bishop could only nod in agreement on that.

The aforementioned mermaid was already in the ocean. None of them were concerned about that though. As soon as the storm reared its fearsome head, she jumped in and started manipulating the currents the best she could, fighting in her own way to keep them from going under. They only hoped that she wouldn't get carried away by the very currents she was pushing away from the ship.

The good doctor himself was at the helm. With every pull and push of the ocean, the wheel spun like a spinning top on amphetamines. He was tall, but he lacked much musculature. So he had to basically tackle it to keep it from going out of control. And during those brief seconds where the waves weren't pushing to and fro, he put all his weight into realigning the ship. He wasn't accomplishing much but at the very least he was keeping the ship from going out of control.

At one point, lightning flashed and tore open a large hole in the roof. Most of the wood fell scattered throughout the room, but one was lit ablaze by its contact with the wild electricity. Doc's eyes darted to the map table. The fire was dangerously close to setting all of the precious maps ablaze. Taking a risk, he left the helm, slammed open the door and kicked the burning wood into the open air. The fire went out almost immediately after entering the deluge. One look told him that none of the documents had caught on fire and he relaxed slightly. But then the ship shook as the waves threatened to throw them overboard again so he had to jump back on the helm.

"This vacation spot better be worth it. Or Dave and I are going to have a _serious_ talk." He muttered to himself.

"Perhaps I'll join you in that conversation." Bishop strode into the room. In one hand he held the blackened remains of the board Doc had kicked out. He darted through the room, scooping up any piece that looked usable. "We're running out of spare boards. When we heard the lightning strike, I came to salvage what I could for below deck." He explained.

Then the ship shook again. More violently than usual. Doc managed to brace himself against the helm, but Bishop had nothing to grab onto. He was knocked forward and collided with the map table. There was a loud cracking sound and Doc felt a surge of fear for his friend. But Bishop stood up not a moment later, holding his face. He gasped with a sudden sense of…exposure. Luckily his nose hadn't been broken by the sudden impact with the wooden table. But his mask hadn't been so lucky. It had broken in two and fallen from his face.

Lowering his hand, Bishop glanced at his captain. Doc didn't look away from the grisly scarring on the left side of his face. The melted flesh held no horror to him as it did the average passerby. Although he knew how self-conscious the younger brother was about it. Without the mask he might outright refuse to go out in public. It would be a shame for him to spend the entire trip inside the ship or in Rook's shadow. He shook himself and once again focused his weight on the helm. That was a problem for later. For now, they needed to focus on staying alive.

Bishop had a similar line of though. He put the remains of his shield in his jacket, tucking it away in a small hiding place. He would deal with it later. For now, he was among friends and family. He would deal with being naked. Gathering up all the wood that was salvageable, he dashed for the door, leaving the doctor behind to perform his own duties.

Alec and Isaac finally managed to furl the sails. With that done, Isaac helped Doc out with the helm while Alec went to lend Rook and Bishop a pair of hands to keep the ship from falling apart. It was a downhill fight from there. The fickleness of the sea eventually passed, though the clouds were still black and the rain trickled down but was still heavy enough to wet their hair down. But they survived. They didn't relax though. At any given moment, the storm could pick back up. Not risking the sails, they pulled out the oars and set about rowing themselves to their destination. That being said, Bishop was conspicuously absent. He was staying below to search for any holes they might have missed. It wouldn't be good for them to survive the storm but then sink because of a missed leak.

It wasn't until they were safely docked in port that they relaxed. And even then it was another fight altogether to find a place to lower anchor. Doc went ashore to ask around the docks. This town was on the far side of the island from the capital, where the majority of the festivities would be held. But even then, with the festival only a day away, it was tough to find a place that wasn't just a beach. They finally managed to dock on a dilapidated dock run by a single old woman. They haggled over rent which the landlady charged an inflated price, them being pirates and all, but they managed to settle on the normal pricing plus medical supplies. Apparently her joints had been given her trouble so Doc added in some ointment to ease the pain and inflammation. Funny how quickly people turn over a new leaf when you have medicine to offer.

With it all over, Maya lifted herself back on deck with her Mermaid Combat where Doc waited with one of the few remaining dry towels. Then he led her down to Rook's forge, where the smith was coaxing his furnace back to life so that everyone could dry themselves in the warmth.

When they entered, they found themselves in the middle of a very…tense situation. On one side of the room, Isaac stood completely motionless. His face was plastered with shame and embarrassment. Noticeably, it wasn't showering fear or anger, which are the usual emotions one shows when a sword is pressed against their neck. On the other end of that sword was an enraged Rook. His eyes were bloodshot and wide, and he shook with barely contained anger. Behind him, Alec was straining his already exhausted muscles to keep Rook from slicing open their friend's jugular. He was pulling on him with all his might, shouting to get him to regain his senses.

On the other side of the room, closest to the forge, sat Bishop. He was seated on an empty crate, facing away from everyone and hiding his face in the shadows of the furnace.

Doc knew immediately what happened. But Maya wasn't in privy to what was going on. The towel draped around her like a robe, she shouted over Alec, "What is going on here?" Her tone commanded attention, and all eyes instinctively turned to her, even Rook's. The only one who didn't was Bishop. All was quiet and silent, still as a picture, before Rook's armed slackened and he lowered the blade.

He was breathing heavily and pointed the blade back at Isaac. "He…" He closed his eyes and shook his head, still taking deep breaths.

Isaac stepped forward, the shame still painted on his features. "When…When Rook and Bishop walked in, I was sorta…surprised." He explained. He eyes flickered at Bishop. "I didn't mean to." He implored. "It just came out. I knew you wore a mask but…shit man. I'm sorry."

There was truth and honesty in his words. He was genuinely apologetic. Maya turned to Bishop. She couldn't see it from the entrance, but as she approached him, she saw the broken pieces of his mask in his hands. Her face and voice softened. "Oh." She held her hands out towards the shards and Bishop dutifully passed them to her, though he didn't turn around. "How did it happen?" She asked, her fingers tracing the broken edges.

"Fell into the table during the storm." He said simply.

When he didn't offer anything else, Maya handed the mask back. "Well we're here for a festival." She said, trying to coax a bit of relief into him. "There are always craftsmen and merchants at things like this. We'll find you a new mask."

"Mm."

Maya sighed and rubbed her temples. So much for a good start to their vacation. Bishop had never been the most forward of people. But even still he did his best to be open with her and the rest of the crew. It wasn't until now that she realized how truly conscious of his disfigurement he was. Whatever Isaac had said, it set Bishop back all the way to the beginning. Who knew how long it would be until he opened back up again.

"Well we're going into town. With the ship in this condition, it might be best to find an inn to stay at. You can stay here or come with us. You're choice." She explained. There was a briskness in her voice, but not much. As much as she wanted to authoritarian with him, she had to keep in mind his already shattered feelings. She honestly wasn't expecting him to join them, but she still had to make the offer.

He was unresponsive for a long moment. Then he looked to the side. Isaac gave the slightest of flinches at his scarring, but he didn't look away. They watched as Bishop grabbed a nearby cloth that didn't look too dirty and wrapped it around his head like an eyepatch. It did a decent job of hiding the melted skin, but it still showed on the edges. Looking at himself in the reflection of a polished axe, he nodded. "Good enough." Getting up, he sank into Rook's shadow without a word.

Maya sighed again, more for Bishop this time then herself. "Alright then." She said, turning to the rest of the crew. "From this moment until the end of the race in four days, we are on vacation. We'll go to the nearest inn together but after that, you can all do whatever you want. Just don't get into any trouble. That means no filching," she glared at Alec, "no fighting," she turned to Isaac, "and for the love of all that's pure, _no picking fights with the police_." She ended with a pointed look at Rook. But Rook himself was too busy glaring at Isaac to notice. "Are we clear?"

Everyone, including Rook replied with a solid, "Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now let's go."

* * *

 **Bet you weren't expecting another chapter two weeks in a row. I know that I don't have the best track record for that but I'm doing my best to get it together.**

 **Please let me know what thought and what you think will happen to our crew in the coming chapters. Till next time!**


	25. The Smith and The Thief

**Well I have officially graduated from college. (Slow claps) Good news for you is that now I'll have a lot more time to focus on writing without the heavy weight of homework and school hanging over me like an old, dead goose. That being said, I'll be splitting my time between this story and one I'm writing to be published someday. So good luck to me on that endeavor.**

 **Now let the festivities begin!**

* * *

"I still don't see why _I_ have to go with you. I thought we were supposed to be doing whatever we want!"

"Shut up. You get to hang with me because we haven't been on our own for a day and you've already picked seven pockets and stolen from at least ten different vendors. You should be god damn grateful that I was the one who caught you and not Maya."

Rook and Alec were trudging their way through one of the many marketplaces that had sprung up around the island. It had taken them the better part of an hour to get the license to open shop. There was a huge line of craftsmen and sellers waiting and they all bartered with the groundskeeper for the best spots and locations. By the time it was his turn he was so done with standing in line that he took whatever place they offered him first.

Long Run Island was flat and had few obstacles. The outlying land was designed to be a large racetrack that circled around the whole island. This track acted as the single main road. There were no other ways to travel between towns. The starting line was at the northernmost beach, in front of the kingdom's castle and it was wide enough to fit at least fifty people abreast. It would normally take three whole days to walk around the entire track. On either side of that track, towns were scattered around. The only thing that stuck out was the forest at the center of the island. Despite how pasteurized the fields and plains were, the forest was allowed to grow wild and free. There were no trails leading through that would have made travel easier for people. These people really took their running seriously. If you were in the northern town and wanted to go all the way south, you would need to walk around the entire half of the track to get there. If you were caught cutting through the forest, you were shamed by the townsfolk and banned from running the annual race.

Rook's stall would be placed near the edge of that forest. It was not the most ideal location. Stalls were set up in town where the closer to the pier you were, the more customers you were likely to get. Likewise, there were also stores, vendors, stalls, and merchants lining the track around the island. You had to pay a large fee to get those spots. People were constantly going between towns, trying to experience everything the festival had to offer. That was why there were three days of festivities before the race. It took that long for someone to go around the entire island. But Rook's spot was one of the worse ones. He didn't want to pay any fine for his spot so they threw him near the forest where people weren't as likely to go. He wasn't worried though. If this festival was as big as Dave made it out to be, he didn't need to worry about customers. The main problem was that the townsfolk themselves were avoiding going anywhere near the place. From what he understood from listening to some gossip while standing in line was that the inhabitants of the island only went near the forest to gather wood to build their homes. Aside from that they gave it a wide, almost extreme, berth. Rook had more than once caught people looking in the direction of the woods and scowling, like they thought it was distasteful. Probably because they couldn't run through a forest like they could a field.

When they reached their spot, there were leaves and sticks scattered everywhere. The people weren't as keen on keeping things tidy near the woods like they did for the track. Rook set down his two barrels while Alec sat on his one.

"Dude. You got screwed." The thief stated as he surveyed their

"Like I care." Looking around, there were only a handful of other merchants around. Some had brooms to sweep their spots while others prepared their stations. None of them were as bustling as the ones in town. But as he studied them, he noticed these weren't exactly the cream of the crop. There was a tinkerer with shoddy toys. The chandler's candles were small and some looked used. The only one who didn't look like they were selling secondhand was a tiny stand run by a bored looking woman who sold books. Much like Alec, she seemed pretty dissatisfied with the spot she was given.

Rook hooked his thumb at her. "If you have time to sit, go ask her if she has a broom or something. If we're going to sell anything, we need to clean this place up."

Alec looked ready to argue, but then his eyes wandered to the woman. She had silver hair but she couldn't have been too many years older than him. Maybe early thirties. And the years hadn't been bad to her by any means. All that plus the fact that he hadn't been in the company of a real woman for quite a while, made Alec grin. "Oh. I'll get your broom alright."

He swaggered his way over to the bookseller and Rook shook his head. There was no way Alec would have a chance with a woman like that. She would turn him down flat and then he would have to go beg a broom from one of the other craftsmen. Maybe the tinkerer would let him borrow his…

His attention was caught by laughter. His head snapped around and his jaw dropped. The bookseller was giggling! She was waving as Alec walked backwards towards Rook with a broom over his shoulder. He was waving back, a cocky grin slapped on his face.

He tossed Rook the broom and the smith could only stare at him and ask, "How? She's a proper member of society. And you're…"

"Charming? Good looking? Charismatic?" Alec supplied.

"Sleazy, conniving, and shady." He deadpanned.

"Heathen. You're just jealous because I have a date tonight."

"Whatever. Just help me set up. Just remember that until the sun goes down, you're stuck with me. And if you make me the third wheel to your flirting, Maya is SO going to find out that you broke her 'no stealing' rule."

Alec glared at him. "You are a real mood killer. Don't think I'm going to forget this."

"Riiight. Come at me whenever you want, sleaze ball." He popped his knuckles. "We both know I'll beat the piss out of you."

Alec looked ready to lunge at him. But he felt eyes on his back and he turned to see the bookseller watching him. Quickly collecting himself, he tilted his head towards Rook and rolled his eyes. He sent a wink her way before snatching the broom back out of his hands and getting to sweeping, doing his best to play the part of underappreciated worker.

That act wasn't lost on Rook as he heard bookseller start giggling again. "Oh. So that's how you're going to play it. Fine." A demon-like aura emanated from him. "If that's how it's going to be, I'm going to run you so ragged that you won't even be able to think straight! Now go back to the ship and grab the three crates I left in my forge."

"What!? But those crates are fucking heavy! And it takes like an hour to get here!"

"Should've though of that before using me to get a date."

"To hell with that! I don't have to work for you. You're not going to sell that many weapons anyway."

"You're also forgetting I have blackmail on you." Rook replied smugly. "Now get stepping before I report to Maya."

Alec shook for a moment, torn between two decisions. On one hand, he wanted to tell Rook to shove it and storm out of there. On the other hand, he wanted to continue working up that bookseller. And if he caused a ruckus, it was likely to turn her off.

But in the end, his desire for feminine company won out. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he casually walked back towards the ship. "You're gonna pay for this." He muttered under his breath.

A noncommittal grunt later, Rook was looking around the sparse stalls around him. In truth, Alec had been right. Despite this being such a big event, he was beginning to worry that he really _wouldn't_ get the business he wanted. But he couldn't rely on the townsfolk. They were so leery of the forest that they weren't going to come anywhere near here. So he was going to have to appeal to the tourists…

His train of thought was suddenly derailed when he heard rustling in the trees behind him. Turning, he looked to see what was making the noise. But the moment he did, the sound stopped. He peered into the wood, trying to see what it was. As the seconds ticked by without anything changing, he raised an eyebrow. "Must have been a rabbit or something." He looked down at his shadow. "Hey, what do you say we go hunt it down? If we catch it, Maya can make it into a rabbit stew."

His shadow was silent, not even a ripple disturbing it. Odd. Even in his worse moods Bishop always at least grunted in reply. Rook kneeled down and put a hand on the shadow. "You in there, brother?"

Still no response. Rook rubbed his head. "Hmm. When did he leave? I could have sworn he was still in there when we were in line…"

* * *

It watched him from the safety of the trees. It knew that the local inhabitants would have fled already. They knew not to get too close. It didn't recognize this man either. Must be an outsider here for the yearly festivities. It waited until he knelt down and started speaking to himself. The way he touched the ground…was he okay? He seemed to be speaking directly into the stone plaza. Perhaps this wasn't the best one to approach. If he was mentally unstable, he wouldn't be of much use. Besides, if it revealed itself now, it would cause a panic. None of the stall worker were local, but the people walking nearby were. Its plans would be ruined if it were discovered so soon.

No. Patience was what was needed. Its instincts desired immediate action, but it curbed those desires with calm reason. The man turned, muttering worriedly to himself. It took that moment to slide back, further into the shelter of the woods. It had picked them for a reason.

But that didn't mean the plan was foolproof. It needed to continue its study. It would watch. It would wait. It would bides it time.

* * *

 **And there is that. Let me know what you think of this one. There are a few things that I feel a bit iffy on. I could use some feedback.**

 **Till next time!**


	26. The Bandit and The Navigator

**On with the story!**

* * *

Bishop could feel it. Ever since he departed from Rook's shadow, he'd felt eyes on him. It was his scar. Even though it was covered, the sight of a bandaged man still drew the eye of the passerby. Plus his bad mood was souring his features. People probably thought he was a ruffian or something. As he walked down an avenue filled with shops, he could see people turning to look at him in his peripherals. They weren't openly gawking or anything and there weren't that many, but he could still feel them. Maybe he should have let Rook buy his mask. But this was personal to him. The mask was almost like his identity. If he didn't pick it out himself, he wouldn't _be_ himself.

…besides, there was another reason he'd separated from his brother. He tilted his head slightly to the right to see Isaac still following him at a distance. He knew he felt bad for his outburst. And that he wanted to make it up to him somehow. But Rook was ready to rip him to shreds. If Bishop had remained with him, Isaac would have lingered around the already lit fuse until it burst. At least this way he wasn't in danger of being killed by Rook. But at the same time, he wasn't quite willing to put it behind him yet.

While he seemed distracted with Isaac, a skinny rat of a man with large front teeth and sallow skin bumped into him. He looked apologetically at Bishop. "Sorry about that, friend. Didn't see you there." He backed away maybe two steps before Bishop stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder.

"You will hand back my money and walk away quietly." He whispered, leaning in close. The thief must have thought him an easy target with his injured eye. But what most people didn't take into account is that even without one eye, he was always aware of his surroundings.

The man tried to shove him away. "Hey, all I did was bump into you. What the hell gives you the right to-."

He was cut off as Bishop reached into a hiding place and pressed the nozzle of his pistol into him. "Now, please."

The man froze, as one tends to do when a firearm is suddenly aimed into their ribs. He glanced first at Bishop and started slowly reaching for the money in his pocket, but he stopped as a man's shadow fell over him.

"Yo Bishop, this guy giving you trouble?"

Bishop sighed very, very slowly. It would have been impractical to look at him since that would require turning his head in an uncomfortable angle. But he knew Isaac's voice well enough to know who it was. "I have the situation under control. You aren't required." He addressed the thief again. "Now. You were about to hand me my money?"

The smaller man nodded vigorously. Hastily reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a wad of bills and thrust it at him. In his haste, he fumbled and dropped the bundle. His eyes bulged in fear of what Bishop was going to do to him, but the navigator calmly plucked it out of the air before it unfolded and scattered on the ground. And having what he wanted, he released him and put the pistol back into its hiding spot.

Once he saw that the danger was gone, the man speedily backpedaled out of reach, turned, and ran. All the while, Bishop was counting out the money to make sure he'd gotten everything back.

Isaac stood awkwardly beside him, not quite sure what to do. "So, uh, guess you really _didn't_ need my help." He hooked at thumb in the direction the thief fled. "You sure you want to let him go like that though? He might come back later to get revenge or something."

Counting down the last bill, Bishop smiled softly. He'd actually given back more than he took. Satisfied, he tucked the money back into his pocket and looked off in that direction. "He's a thief. We're pirates. Professional courtesy to let him go." That was all the reply he gave before continuing down the row of merchants and sellers. He could feel Isaac watching him go and heard as he continued following him. There was no helping that though. Short of violence, there wasn't really a way to make him stop. He was the type that would stick around even if he yelled at him. The best thing to do for now was to ignore him and focus on his task.

Doing just that, he studied each stall as he passed. These weren't secondhand shops like they were in Rook's plaza. There were workers shouting all over, vying for customers and trying to drown out the deals being offered by everyone else. There were clothes and silks, weaponry (not that he would buy a weapon from anyone but Rook), pots and vases, and even high quality glassworks. There was even a crowd around two stalls where the owners were arguing over whether or not one's wares were genuine. He passed all them. He didn't have time now to browse around. He needed to get his mask before he could calm down enough to do such a thing like relax. But even that might be difficult with Isaac stalking him from behind. Just the feeling someone was constantly watching him was making his skin crawl. It made him want to sink into the ground. But that might cause a scene so he refrained.

It took a while to find what he was looking for. He had gone through almost an entire town before he found a carpenter. He was a rough looking man with scruffy beard and tan skin. His hands were tough and callused from a life of wood working. There was a large saw and a half hewn log next to his stand, though Bishop was sure it was more for decoration than for actual carving. His wares consisted of a variety of wood carvings. There were rocking chairs and wood carvings and, much to his joy, even a few wooden masks.

There was one problem though. None of them were what he was looking for. One was an extremely gaudy tiki mask. It would have covered his entire face plus a good portion of his neck if he put it on. That was out. There was also a mask clearly designed for a woman. It had silk fringes with frilly designs like a butterfly. Also out. The last one was…alright. It was a half-mask like his own, but this one was attached to a hat and had a pinwheel strapped to the top.

"Hehe. Noticed that one didja?" The carpenter asked with a pleased smile. "Got the idea for it while I was visiting this town in East Blue last year. Interested?"

Before he got a chance to reply, Isaac grabbed it and put it on. And the moment he did, the pinwheel on top started spinning in the breeze, making a gentle clacking noise with each turn. "Hey this is awesome! You should totally buy this one!"

Bishop took a deep breath to calm himself. "Do you do repairs?" He asked a bit tersely.

The carpenter rubbed his scruff and squinted. "Depends, I guess. I don't have all my tools here. But show me what you've got and I'll see what I can do."

He pulled the mask halves out of his coat and handed them to him. But the carpenter didn't need to look at them long. "Sorry to tell you, but this is beyond me." He fit the two halves back together experimentally. "If it were just cracked or dinged, I'd be able to fix 'er up in no time. But completely separate like this, the most we could do would just glue them back together. It wouldn't look nice but…" He shrugged. "I'm not sure there's anyone on this island who can graft them back seamlessly."

"Oi, oi. The fuck you mean you can't do it?" Isaac demanded. His anger started growing as he grabbed the man by the shirt. "That ain't what we wanna hear. So you better get fixin' before I snap your arm in-"

That was enough. Bishop pulled two guns out and shoved them into Isaac's back. "Enough! I don't want you here. Leave. Now!"

Isaac, the carpenter, several shopkeepers, and just about every person nearby froze at his outburst. Isaac in particular seemed startled and confused. He'd never heard Bishop yell like that. Even in battle he kept himself in control.

"I-I was just trying to h-."

"I know." Bishop cut in. "But I don't want it. Go. Away."

"But I-."

Bishop cocked the pistols. "I won't ask twice."

Isaac released the carpenter slowly and took a few steps back. "At least let me pay…"

He fired a warning shot into the air. Everyone nearby screamed and fled from the scene. The carpenter backed away, but he just stared at the two pirates.

Bishop brought the barrels down, directly in front of Isaac's eyes. He didn't say a word, but the message was quite clear. It was regrettable that he didn't get the point _before_ he fired into the open air in a crow full of people. That might make things complicated later. Normally he wouldn't have done it. But he really needed to get away from Isaac.

Isaac hesitated. But you can't really win a staring contest with the barrel of a gun. So he lost that contest. Backing away, he tried looking at Bishop one more time, hoping that just by staring he could convey his thoughts. But that didn't happen. So instead he muttered, "I'm sorry." Then he ran away with the crowd.

Once he was satisfactorily out of view, Bishop turned back to the carpenter, who was more than ready to bolt. He slipped the weapons back into their hiding places and lowered his eyes. "I…apologize. Both for me shipmate and my conduct."

The carpenter eyed him. The guns were gone… "Well…so long as you don't cause me no problems…"

Bishop bowed his head slightly in thanks. "The mask." He said, getting back to the reason he was there. "Can you make me a new one?"

He stroked his scruff again. "Hmm…I could…Exactly like this one, eh?" He picked the two pieces back up and turned them every which way, studying them. "Plain half-mask with a black coating. Simple enough." He eyed the navigator, stopping at the bandaging over his left eye. "Hmph. I'm guessing you aren't going to want no ordinary wood. Maybe something…sturdier?"

Bishop raised an eyebrow and thought of it. Working on the ship, he was honestly surprised the mask lasted as long as it did. He definitely _would_ need something a bit tougher otherwise he would have to keep replacing it. And that simply didn't sound appealing. So he nodded. "Right. What do you have in mind?"

The craftsman grinned. "Maple, Birch, and Hickory are the hardwood I typically use. But if you were wanting something to really hold up, I've got some Cebil and Black Ironwood that I've been itching to use. But…"

"How much more?"

He let out a laugh. "Ah, you know how to get straight to the heart of it. Aye, it's gonna cost you a bit more for those. Twelve thousand. And don't try bartering. After the scene you just caused, I'm not going a beri less."

The man had a point. Gunfire rarely did well for business. It was entirely possible he'd lost business. The inflated price likely made up for the customers that were going to shy away from his shop."

Bishop nodded and shook his hand. "Deal." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the majority of his money and counted them out.

Once the final note was counted, the carpenter tucked the money away in a lockbox. "It'll be a few days before its ready. Those harder woods are more difficult to ply than you standard variety lumber. Come by the evening of the big race and I'll have it for you." There was a commotion down the road and they looked to see police running in their direction. And man could they run. Figured considering running was the national pastime here. The carpenter waved him off. "Now get going. I'll feel bad if you got arrested after paying me. Just remember, evening of race day."

Bishop nodded his thanks again. Then he walked off at a leisurely pace, not concerned with the quickly approaching authorities. He turned a corner into an alley and when the police caught up, they were astounded to find the corridor empty.

One of them took of his cap and scratched his head. "This is a dead end right?"

"Yeah. The sucker must have scaled the walls or something." He pointed up. "There! I saw something move!"

"Aw, cut it out. Nobody can climb a wall like that. There's nothing to hold onto. You've been reading too many comics."

"Then _you_ tell me where he went."

"Doesn't matter where. He ain't here. Lucky bastard must have run away."

"Hmph. At least he ran. Remember that bloke last year who hid in the woods? Damn fool. He had no idea what lives in there."

The first policeman turned on the last speaker and raised a club at him. "Shut your slow mouth before I know that half-paced brain out of your skull! You know better than to be talking about the forest. Specially this time of year."

"Right. Sorry Captain." He apologize abashed.

"Now let's go search. He couldn't have gone far."

* * *

It watched the entire scene. The gunshot had attracted its attention. It had to duck in an abandoned alleyway so as to remain hidden. It didn't like straying into town like this, but luckily all the townsfolk were too busy fleeing to see it.

The ruffian wasn't high on its list of candidates. He was too muscular. There was too much risk. But the bandaged shooter was promising. He lacked the strong physique compared to the other three it had seen. He seemed to have an injured eye as well. That worked in its favor.

Those thoughts died when it saw. When he came towards its alley, it hid behind a dumpster. Then the shooter _walked_ into a wall and disappeared in order to escape the police. If he could vanish like that, he went to the bottom of its list of candidates. Even if it succeeded, what could it do if he simply disappeared again? No. It would have to look elsewhere. It held its breath as the police talked with each other. If they decided to search the alley, it would be discovered. But luckily they left without incident. Unfortunately, though, it could hear people returning to the marketplace. It couldn't leave the same way it entered. It would have to improvise.

* * *

The officer _had_ seen something earlier. When Bishop hid inside the wall, he traveled to the top and peaked out. But when he was noticed, he ducked back inside. When they started bickering amongst themselves, he slipped his head back out. They were talking about something living in the forest. Interesting. Seems like they were unwilling to chase anyone into the woods. He would need to remember that incase anything went dicey.

But something caught his eye. Looking down from above, he noticed a figure hiding in the shadows of the alley. He couldn't really tell from this distance but it didn't seem…right. There was something off about it. He shrugged. Probably just another criminal hiding from the prying eye of the authorities.

When the policemen left, he was about to go back inside and return to ground level, but movement caught his eye. Turning his head to see better, his eye widened in surprise when the shadowy figure suddenly jumped into the air. On its way up, the two of them made eye contact. Its eyes were just as shocked as his were. The moment passed and the being soared up and landed on the roof behind him. He turned to look, but whatever it was had already started bouncing its way across the rooftops towards the tree line.

Bishop sunk back into hiding. It was very possible he had just encountered whatever frightened the local police into avoiding the woods. Certainly no normal human could make jumps like that. He shook his head. Hopefully it was a coincidence. Hopefully it would leave him alone.

* * *

 **This one turned out a bit better than the last I think. Didn't run into the same roadblocks as I did last time but then again you all are the judges. Let me know what you think.**

 **Till next time!**


	27. The Chef and the Doctor

**On with the story once again!**

* * *

Doc and Maya were in a large store by the waterside. They were in the storefront where there was a register and some chairs and a counter. It was barren of goods or frivolity. There was a single door that lead deeper into the building where they could see boats hanging on walls and ships being built in waterways that were connected to the ocean. A slender man behind the counter wearing a thick red apron and matching gloves was taking their order on a clipboard. "So that's one ship in need of repairs down at the old docks south of town, correct?"

Doc nodded. "That's right. It bears pirate colors but please don't be alarmed by that. We carry medicine and very little else."

The man didn't even look up from his board. "Sir, the type of ship matters very little to us. So long as you pay what you owe, we'll have it fixed." He finished writing and set down the clipboard. "We'll send someone out right away to take a look. Will there be someone there we can give an estimate to?"

Doc shook his head. "No. With the hull breaches, we decided to vacate the ship just to be safe." He used a pen and piece of paper that was lying on the counter to write something down. "This is where we'll be staying during the festival. If it all the same to you, just send someone there looking for the Good Heart Pirates when you've done your preliminaries."

The man took the paper and added it to the clipboard. "Then we have everything in order. Thank you for your business."

Now that the ship repairs were underway, Doc and Maya could breathe sighs of relief. Leaving the store, they walked side by side down a street. This one wasn't filled with vendors and the like. This was an actual commerce area. There were stores with shoppers instead of stands with browsers. All of these shops were run by locals or wealthy businessmen who could afford to buy a building. It was nighttime now, the sun had just set. It had taken them all day to find a shipwright that wasn't closed for the festival. That didn't mean business was fading though. In fact it seemed like there were even more people out and about under the cool night sky. Many of the stores had regular shoppers and locals who visited often, but that didn't stop the shopkeepers from hiring men and women to call and attract attention.

One such woman saw them and immediately ran out to meet them. "Hey, miss!" She called. She was in front of them in a blink. Definitely a local if she could run at that speed. Doc couldn't help but study her. Her toned legs were definitely a commonality amongst the natives of this island. Whether that was the result of their genetics or constant running he couldn't be sure though. He shook his head as she sized up Maya with her eyes. "You have such lovely hair. And your complexion! You must have throngs of men lining up at your door." She cast a devilish side look at Doc. "But then again, you already have a man don't you?" Doc's body struggled with two completely different reactions. One was turning red with embarrassment at being called Maya's 'man'. The other was turning pale with fear. If Maya thought he was trying to make a move on her…well he had seen what she did to such men. But before he could suggest otherwise, the woman was already showing her a deep red dress. "But just because you've got him doesn't mean you'll keep him, does it? Look at your clothes, they are so…ordinary! You need some zazz, spice things up a little!" She pointed to her store. "The masters of this shop have only the finest! They can even tailor make something especially for you!" Her eyes turned to Doc and she looked him up and down. Then she circled him and licked her lips playfully. "Better act fast. Otherwise someone might snatch him up."

Maya only raised an eyebrow at the pitch as Doc continued to fight his conflicting sides. Then she leaned in and said with a mischievous smirk, "Sorry, but a real woman doesn't need a _dress_ to keep her man." The woman's façade fell as she blushed at the implication. Before she could recover, Maya slipped her hand into Doc's and pulled him away. She cast a victorious look over her shoulders as they left the saleswoman behind.

It wasn't until they heard the woman regain herself and then begin pitching at someone else that she realized that Doc was walking like he was a robot, all stiff and clunky. She looked up at him and saw that his features were just as awkward as his movements. "What's wrong with you?" She asked curiously.

The captain rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Well it's just…we were…she thought…" He took a deep breath to steady his heart rate and thoughts. "What you said was…very uncharacteristic of you." He finally said. His embarrassment won over his fear and a blush colored his cheeks.

Maya did something else uncharacteristic. She smiled. A warm, sincere smile. "Well, I'm having a good day. So I decided to play with her a little." She stretched and raised one arm in the air. "It isn't often we get a vacation. So I intend to enjoy it." She breathed easily. "Besides…it isn't often that I can get out like this without people staring."

Doc almost staggered in shock. He hadn't realized it until now but there really weren't that many people paying them special attention. People called and tried to coerce them into their stores but nobody was staring or gawking at the fact that there was a mermaid.

But before he could agree with her and try to muffle his embarrassment, a man waved at them and held up a small box. "Excuse me sir! That's quite the lovely companion you have there." He said appreciatively. "But I can't help but notice something is missing." Doc put up a hand to stop him, but he already opened the box and showed them a small ring. "These are uncertain times, sir. In this Great Pirate Era, you can't be sure when calamity will strike. So you should take happiness when you can, am I right? And if this one doesn't fit the lady's liking, my shop can more than accommodate different tastes."

Doc was now as bright as Maya's hair. The mermaid herself was even taken aback by the sudden proposition. While she was still stunned, Doc leaned in and said lowly. "Do you understand what you are saying? You would be an accessory of breaking a law!"

The man seemed confused. He looked between them and then his eyes lowered. As they did, the color faded from him. He had been so fixated on her face he hadn't taken her tail into account. He snapped the box closed and hastily hid it in his pocket. "Oh god! I-I-I didn't realize." He pointed accusingly at Doc. "Y-You shouldn't be walking around like this. You'll get innocent people like me into trouble." His eyes darted around, seeing if anyone witnessed what was happening. "Get out of here. And stay away from my shop!"

He dashed away, leaving them alone in a crowd of people. Doc felt…uncertainty inside. There were so many emotions vying for attention that he wasn't sure which was which. And Maya didn't look any better. In fact she looked worse. Her smile was gone. She looked like she wanted to retreat into herself. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey. Don't let that ruin your vacation." He said awkwardly. When she didn't react, he looked around for something and then pointed down the road. "Why don't we get something to eat? Come on, it'll be my treat."

Maya wasn't exactly hungry. Whatever appetite she had was gone. But then she glanced down between them and a little warmth returned to her, though tinged by something sadder. "Fine. But I hope you brought your big wallet. Because we're going to the most expensive place I can find!"

Doc laughed as the tension eased somewhat from his shoulders. There was the Maya he knew. And as they searched for a nice place to eat, the air around them became less and less gloomy and more and more cheerful. But that might just have been because he hadn't noticed that they were still holding hands.

* * *

These were the final two. If it couldn't find a candidate to choose, its plan would fall apart. When they walked into the shipwright's shop, it waited patiently, hiding on the roof of the seamstress's building across the street. The mermaid seemed likely. But the fact that she floated around on that bubble gave it reason to pause. If she could fly using it, that would make it harder to keep her. It didn't know enough for her to be a likely choice. That left the captain. It had always heard rumors that pirate captains were the strongest amongst their crews. Their power could rival even that of high ranked Marines and government officials. Yet this one seemed the weakest of all. He carried no weapons and his body wasn't muscular enough to be battle hardened. Perhaps he was Captain because he was intelligent, not strong. No matter the case, the Captain seemed the likeliest choice. So now all it needed to do was wait.

It didn't bother keeping track of how much time it spent waiting. Doing so would make it anxious and sloppy. It would have to expose itself to do this, which meant it couldn't allow any mistakes. It wouldn't allow anyone to stop its plans.

When they emerged from the store, the walked down the street. They were immediately stopped by the seamstress worker. When they left her behind, they were once against stopped by the jeweler. When they went separate ways from him, it saw the opening. It leapt off the building and took it.

* * *

They walked down the street, both of them smiling. They were looking in the window of a restaurant when they heard screaming from down the road.

"It's the beast! It left the forest! It's attacking!"

They both turned to see a large majority of the populace fleeing in their direction. They were all screaming and crying and holding onto loved ones. Some people just looked around in confusion, but many and more were doing their best to escape. And escape they did. Even the children were running faster than anyone in the crew could. And they could see why.

Behind the crowd, dashing between buildings was a strange animal. It looked like a large rabbit. It had a light buff color that was almost blonde. It was sleek and slender and moved with more grace than any human could. That being said, it was taller than a standard person. It had long ears that reached from the top of its head to its tail. Its hind legs were almost as long as the rest of its body.

Doc braced himself, ready to flee. But just as his muscles got ready to scoop up Maya and flee, the rabbit's eyes, locked on him. And then it suddenly vanished, leaving a dust cloud from where it was standing. It immediately reappeared in front of Doc, mid jump. One of its paws were wrapped around his waist where it gripped him close to its chest.

Maya looked over in slow motion. Doc was looking at her, his eyes wide in shock. The rabbit's momentum caught up to it and suddenly he was wrenched away, his fingers slipping away from hers before she could hold on.

The last thing she saw was Doc reaching his hand out to her, screaming her name as the beast carried him away towards the woods.

Maya could only reach out in return, hoping that she could get to him. Before she could even register how fast it was taking him away, she could only shout for him.

"Doc!"

* * *

 **Doc has been kidnapped! What will the crew do? Will they get him back? Find out next time!**

 **See you then!**


	28. The Rescue

**Hello everyone. Shall we get on with the story then?**

* * *

Maya was went chasing after them as fast as she could. Unfortunately, that wasn't very fast. She could speed by on her bubble, but the average Human could run faster than her. She would never catch up. Even as she watched, they were already dots in the distance. But it wasn't like her to just give up and accept things.

"Rook! Bishop! Alec! Isaac!" She shouted. The initial shock was fading now. And her anger was flaring. She never veered, never took her eyes off the direction they disappeared into as she repeated their names angrily into the air. The people around her didn't even so much as look at her, scared as they were of the monster that attacked their town.

It wasn't until Bishop stepped out from behind a building did she stop. "Maya. Enough." He warned flatly.

The others came out from other nooks and crannies. Rook and Alec were trailing behind her, Rook quiet and solemn while Alec wheezed, not yet recovered from all the labor Rook had put him through. Isaac literally jumped from the top of a building to join them.

Alec was catching his breath, resting his hands on his knees to brace himself. "Why…the hell…were you up there?" He asked between gasps.

Isaac responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It was the fastest way to get here. Dumbass."

He bristled at that, but before they could devolve into an argument, as was their wont, Maya snapped them back to attention. "Shut up! We don't have time. That… _thing_ just took Doc." She explained the whole thing to them, as short as it was.

"A rabbit. Just swooped in. And left." Alec asked in disbelief. "What kind of lame kid stories have you been reading to come up with that?"

"It's true!" She defended. "I don't know why, but all the townspeople were scared out of their minds. Look at them!" Even as they stood there, people were still scattering and running away. "The thing is long gone but they are still freaked. The police aren't even here to help!"

"Hmph. A rather rude thing to say."

A man wearing a small, golden circlet with a green gem encrusted in it appeared. His hair was white and he had the beginning signs of age, a few streaks of grey hair and wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He wore no cape nor heavy garments. He wore what could only be considered a green jogging suit. If it wasn't for the crown, he could have been taken as an eccentric. He was stern, but not homely. And flanking him on either side were six knights, each endowed with a silver-like armor that glimmered even in the pale light of the moon that was creeping over the horizon. One of these knights stood out amongst the rest. He wore a metal band around his head, stylized to resemble the wind. There were also wings imprinted on his armor. He was handsome. He features were lean and confident, his startling blue eyes pierced through everyone he saw. His blond hair was feathered and wavy and even as fear ran rampant around him, he was smiling as if he already knew that all would be well.

"It's the King! King Lepus has come to save us!" Someone shouted from the panicked masses. The people who had previously been scared for their lives were suddenly shouting and reaching out towards the King and his knights, begging for protection.

King Lepus raised a hand to his subjects and they all quieted down. The crew watched silently. They had never been in the presence of a king before. It was taking both Rook and Isaac to hold her back from marching over to him and demand he go find Doc.

"Calm yourselves, my people. There is nothing to fear. Our scouts have reported that the monster has already reentered the forest to its lair. You are safe." He told them resolutely.

But after such a scare, people aren't so easily calmed down. One woman holding a small child shouted, "But it came _here_! It attacked our homes! What's going to stop it from coming back?"

The King shook his head. "Worry not! It took us by surprise, but it has played its hand. We will be ready for it. Should it leave the forest again, you ask how we will stop it? How will we protect you?" He flourished and all eyes were drawn to the knights at his side. "The Royal Knights! These men and women have pledged their lives and legs to the protection of this kingdom's people. These six knights, the fastest in our lands, will personally be patrolling the towns and keeping you all safe. Believe in them! The monster may have devilish speed, but our knights are faster than any living being on this island, no than in all of the Grand Line! Let them be the wind that speeds you forward!" The assembled crowd broke out in roaring cheers and whistles. King Lepus smiled and nodded. He basked in it for a moment before turning to his knights. "You have your orders. Go protect our people!" Five of the knights nodded and then they were gone. Snapping their heads in every direction, the crew saw those same people already almost out of view. Even Bishop was impressed by the sheer speed of these people.

While they were distracted, King Lepus and the remaining emblemized knight approached them. "It is my understanding that it was your Captain that was kidnapped by the creature." The King studied them with a slight gaze of disapproval. "Pirates. Despicable creatures who disturb law and order wherever they go." He wanted to say more, but shook his head. "I have bigger fish to fry, as the saying goes. And as I know, you have yet to break any laws in my country. So while I despise your kind, I cannot deny you the protection I offer every person who enters my kingdom." He gestured to the knight next to him. "This is Brisk, Captain the Knights and, as such, the fastest human being on this island. As a gesture of good faith, along with my personal apology that this happened while you were in my realm, he will personally enter the forest to find your Captain."

There were more than a few gasps of shock and mutterings.

"The forest?"

"But it is illegal to go there."

"We've never sent a search party in before."

"Does this mean they're going to kill the monster?"

Lepus turned to the people and calmed them. "I know it is rather unorthodox, but we cannot allow current circumstances to continue. It was my very ancestors that outlawed the entering of the forest, something that I enforced drastically when the monster made its den there. However, if we wish to finally be rid of this beast, we must take action. Yes, my knights will be protecting us, but we must not remain on the defensive. No runner waits for their opponent to catch up before crossing the finish line. We must track it while the trail is still fresh. We will track this beast and rid it from our lands for good!"

There was another raucous cheer from the rallied people as Brisk posed and waved for them all. While he was showboating, Bishop caught his brother's eye and the two nodded. The wings in his armor seemed to glow in the light of the moon and lanterns as he got down into a running posture and then practically lifted off the ground by the sheer force of his legs. If the other knights were fast, they were nothing compared to him. He generated a gust of wind that ruffled hair and pulled at clothes as he took off towards the forest.

The people cheered and Lepus watched proudly as he exited the field of view and entered the forest, where they were all sure he would return with the beast slain. King Lepus smiled at Maya and the crew. "Now please, enjoy the festivities, get some rest. Come race day, I am sure your Captain will be found." He stalked off, many of his subjects swarming him with smiles and cheering.

The four of them watched him go with various degrees of disbelief. Isaac popped his knuckles. "So we're going into that forest, right?"

Alec checked his scimitars. "Yup."

"And we're gonna get our Captain back, right?"

The pinwheel on Rook's sword chimed in the breeze. "Most definitely."

"Bitchin'."

Maya's hair flared in the wind. "Glad we all agree. But before we go, Rook."

"Yeah?"

"…Where is Bishop?"

The smith grinned. "Oh don't worry about him. He's just…doing his thing."

* * *

The foliage of the forest would normally deter normal people from going too deep. But Brisk had enough speed and momentum that he mowed through everything that got in his way. His armor was shaped in a way to make it aerodynamic. As he ran through the woods, the wind split in his path and created a current around him. Few plants or insects even touched his armor as the wind kept them from marring the beautiful shine. He stopped his pursuit as he spotted a large footprint embedded in some mud. It was a rabbit's. He grinned. "I've waited so long to hunt you down. Thank you for taking that pirate, it gave me an excuse to finally enter this place to get you." He stamped his foot in the center of the print and sprinted forward. "You won't escape me this time!"

But as he pursued his quarry, he failed to look behind him. Then again, when one hunts as single-mindedly as Brisk was, they rarely bother checking their rear. If he did, he would have noticed, just for an instant, a head emerging from his shadow.

Bishop wasn't used to moving at such high speeds while hiding. So he needed to look around just long enough to get his bearings before sinking back into his hiding spot. There was more to this than meets the eye. It didn't really matter to him what the circumstances were, but Brisk was going to find Doc, Bishop intended on being there to save his Captain.

* * *

 **See you all next time!**


	29. Into the Forest

**Hello, all. Sorry about my lack of updating these past few months. I've been trying to get passed some writer's block that has been plaguing me. I'm going to do my best to make the updates more regular but please be patient with me. (Bows)**

 **Now that that is out of the way, on with the story!**

* * *

Getting into the forest wasn't difficult. The islanders were so terrified of it that none of them approached, which meant there weren't any guards to keep people out. The only problems were the sentries. At any given moment there were people watching to see if the beast would make another appearance. Bishop might have been able to lure those people away with his hiding powers, but without him they weren't sure on a safe way to proceed.

Another problem was Maya. She couldn't move very fast with her bubble ring. And since speed was of the essence on this one, it was down to Rook to carry her piggyback style through the forest. He fashioned a sling for her to sit on out of cloth which he attached to the ends of his sheathed sword and put across his chest as a brace. He still used his hands to support her though so his prized weapon didn't have too much pressure on it.

"You better not grab anything or I'll beat the piss out of you." Maya grumbled as she took her seat on the makeshift support. Her tail made things a bit awkward at first, but she managed to sit at an angle where her fin wouldn't get tangled with Rook's feet.

Alec scoffed off handedly. "Not like you have an ass to grab to begin with, fish woman."

Maya went to lunge at him, but Rook held her tightly. "Hey! This ain't the time to be goofing off. Are we doing this or what?" The two crewmates glowered at each other before nodding begrudgingly. "Then let's get moving. I don't want some showboating asswipe getting their first."

"Yeah I'm with Rook on this one." Isaac piped in. "I've met my share of guards, so I know the type. Something about that Brisk guy rubs me the wrong way." He stretched his legs and prepared for the sprint. "He might bring back Doc, but I'm betting that even if he's still alive it'll be in chains."

"The king might have said he would help us, but we're still pirates. And Doc's bounty is enough to fill up any coffers he might have emptied hosting this festival." Maya agreed. "Hunting down a monster plus getting a nice hefty bounty on top of it? He must feel like it's his birthday."

Rook stood up from his squatting position. Maya had to grab his shoulders to keep herself steady. "Ready?" Alec and Isaac nodded and got into place on either side of him. "Let's move!"

They ran forward at a dead sprint. Behind them, were shouts as they were undoubtedly seen. But whether they were just far enough to where no one could catch them or if nobody was willing to get so close, they weren't stopped as they broke through the tree line.

* * *

Brisk moved with the speed of the wind itself. Which wasn't helping Bishop. As watchful as he was, he couldn't keep up with how fast they were going. He clenched his eye. It was at times like these that he truly cursed his condition.

He half considered leaving Brisk's shadow and continuing his search on his own. But this truly was the quickest way to get to Doc. Brisk could move much faster than he could. The real problem would be getting Doc to safety. If Brisk decided that Doc's life was a cheap price to pay for taking the monster's, he wanted to be ready to evacuate his captain as soon as possible.

His planning was put to a halt as Brisk stopped to scour the area. He was frowning. "I could have sworn I heard something." He said to himself. They waited in silence, each listening for the telltale signs of movement. But all was quiet in the forest. Any animals that might have been nearby were silent, alerted to their presence by Brisk's trampling through their domain. Quick he was, stealthy no so much.

Brisk shook his head. "Probably nothing. The forest is large and I've barely been here an hour. It wouldn't make its den so close to the tree line." He turned in a circle cautiously, nonetheless. A tree branch snapped and Brisk jumped through the air, whirled around, and brought his foot down on the legs of a small white rabbit. It screeched as the impact broke its hind legs.

The knight looked down on the creature passively for a long moment. When he finally reached down, he grabbed the writhing animal by the nape and lifted it to eye level. It hung limply in his grasp, only its whiskers twitching about.

Brisk shivered. "It's been so long since I've seen a rabbit like this." He said lowly. "You simply don't come around the castle anymore." He gently pet it on the head off handedly. "I used to have such… _fun_ with you as a child." He looked down at its broken legs and started shaking. He smiled haphazardly. "I guess I have some time to kill before I reach the big game. I'm sure the beast is sitting at home having it's its own fun with that pathetic pirate." He licked his lips and grabbed the rabbit forcefully. "I won't lose anything by a little…distraction."

From inside the shadow Bishop saw everything, heard everything. The poor animal's cries and screeches under Brisk's machinations. He could have shot it to put it out of its misery, but that would have betrayed his position. So he held his peace. He didn't act. He didn't look away. And when Brisk finally finished, he tossed it aside with a contented sigh. He marched leisurely further into the forest, relaxed and taking his time for once. Bishop emerged from the shadow just enough to offer a silent prayer to the mangled corpse they were leaving behind. It wasn't even being eaten as food. Used for malicious glee and then tossed aside. Pure waste. There were few things sadder. In a moment of solemnity, he vowed some form of justice for the small rabbit.

* * *

"Anyone else starting the think this was a bad idea?" Alec asked. He had swatted his fiftieth bug and was already sweating from traipsing through the woods. The trees were sparse in the beginning, but the further in they went, the thicker everything became. There have been several times where they've had to go around to avoid thorn bushes or other foliage.

Rook and Maya braced themselves as Rook jumped over a large fallen tree. "Shut your damn mouth, Alec." Rook growled at him. "Keep talking and we'll leave you behind."

The thief scowled. "Look, all I'm saying is how are _we_ going to find Doc? You saw how fast that guy was moving. He'll have this place covered days before we even get halfway."

"How many fucking times do we have to go over this? We leave this to the king and his lacky, and we'll lose our captain." Isaac snapped. Alec rolled his eyes at the redhead as he followed Rook and Maya's lead and vaulted over the tree. Isaac was different. Instead of jumping, he kicked it and broke it open. Splinters scattered, but not enough to be dangerous. He walked through the opening but his shirt ended up getting snagged on a broken fragment. With a frustrated grunt, he yanked himself free. Lifting it, he noticed blood seeping from a cut on his side. "Tch." Pulling off his shirt, he used it as a bandage to wrap around his side.

Maya cringed at him. "That's disgusting. We're buying you a new shirt when we get back."

Isaac shrugged. "Whatever. Nothing fancy though. I don't dig all that fashion bullshit."

"How were you guys scolding me and then turn around and start talking about clothes!" Alec demanded angrily.

Maya rolled her eyes. "Fine. If you want to know, his speed is going to work against him. He'll scan the entire area expecting to find a giant, obvious rabbit to kill. He won't take his time to really get down a search. Rabbits are tricky. Their dens are usually hidden. So while he's running hinder and yon, we will go more in depth until we find something he missed." She stared ahead, fire filling her entire being. "We will find him. We WILL find him!"

* * *

 **Again, I hope you all will be patient with me, even when it comes to this chapter. It isn't anything more than something to build up the story/suspense, but I also had so much trouble even writing this. Hopefully by next week I'll have everything sorted out and the block will be gone.**

 **Till next time!**


	30. She

**Ah, October. You bring me cool weather and Halloween. How I've missed you.**

 **Now then, my work schedule is a bit funny. So my update day will most likely change each week. The day I will update will be my day off during the week.**

 **Now then, on with the story!**

* * *

It was nothing but darkness. He was walking down a pitch black road. There wasn't even a star to guide him. So many times he came here. And always it was the same. So he just moved. He needed to move. Staying in one place would doom him. He wasn't sure why, but he just knew. He always knew. But it was so hard when there was no light to brighten the path. He staggered. He scrambled to his feet but it was already too late. The eyes came back. Sprouting in the blackness, pupils scrambling, searching. There were so many, always so many. They stared at him, watched him, observed him, compared him, judged him. He had to run. Escape was the only solution. If he ran fast enough maybe he could get away this time. But it was futile. No matter how far he went, no matter how quickly, the eyes followed. He felt something shake him, but he ignored it. In the distance, he saw something glitter. He charged for it with all his might. The shaking intensified but again he paid it no mind. If only he could reach the flickering light, he'd be able to escape. He knew he could. The eyes swarmed around him, trying to impede his path but he still reached out. Just a little further…

* * *

Alec's eyes snapped open. He was huddled in a makeshift shelter that was just large enough to fit them all. They found it the previous night, probably the home of some animal or another at some point. When exhaustion started to take hold of them, they had no choice but to bunker down for the remainder of the night. It was cramped and dank and uncomfortable. There were rocks littered across the ground and roots digging into his neck and to make it worse he had the unbridled joy of getting crammed next to the damned fish woman. Her tail kept hitting him all night! Eventually he scrambled up and kicked Isaac back and took his spot. The dumb lug didn't even stir.

He was being shaken awake by Rook who was crouched near the lip of the den. He was staring out into the forest, but keeping his head low. Curious, Alec wiggled onto his stomach and crawled up to take a look himself. He could tell why Rook was trying to rouse him. Standing near an old, dead tree was Brisk. But Rook was looking not at the man, but his shadow. He was no doubt searching for telltale signs of Bishop. Alec rolled his eyes. They both knew that it was impossible to tell if Bishop was still there. That was the whole point of his Hide-Hide Fruit! But that was brotherly love or some shit.

Be that as it may, they were now stuck in that hole. Who knew what Brisk would do if he found them there. But then he had a thought that made his heart quicken in fear. They were hiding in a man-sized hole. Isn't this the sort of place you would look for a rabbit? Sure enough, Brisk turned in their direction, his eyes falling on their resting place. Alec scrambled back, dragging Rook along by the collar of his shirt. They had nothing to gain and everything to lose if they were caught and sent back to town. Their movements caused Isaac and Maya to blink the sleep from their eyes and look around in confusion. Rook and Alec firmly put their hands over their mouths before they could say anything and put fingers to their own.

They heard Brisk's armor chink with each step as he grew closer. They pressed themselves as flat as they could against the walls and as deep as they could manage. His footsteps stopped just in front of them. _Shit!_ Alec screamed internally. They'd been found out. They were going to get caught. It was all over! They heard the tinkling sound of metal against metal…and then a small stream of water began trickling into their hole.

 _He's taking a piss!_ They raged silently. As the stream cascaded its way down the hole, they recoiled in disgust. Maya plugged her nose as the smell of urine hit. The guys, not wanting to seem week in front of each other, toughed it out by glaring at the stream. Alec swore if it touched his shoes, he was jumping out of this hole and chopping his dick off.

When Brisk finally put it away and they heard his footsteps fading away, they took collective sighs of relief…and promptly gagged on the smell. They scrambled out of the hole, not caring if their clothes were torn on roots or rocks so long as they didn't touch the pee. Isaac was stuck carrying Maya's tail so she could crawl her way out unsoiled.

They were gulping in fresh air on all fours. "That…was disgusting." Maya gasped. "I need…a bath."

Isaac swore and looked at his shoe. "Dammit, I stepped in it!"

"I know…I can smell it from here." Alec hissed. He shivered. "Smelly Piss. That is his name now."

The others raised their hands in agreement. Except for Rook. He was standing stone still, his eyes trained in one direction. "Guys…don't move." He whispered. They looked over to ask what he was talking about, but when they saw it, they froze too.

In the bushes, staring directly at them, were a pair of piercing blue eyes. The shadows kept it hidden, but a twitching pink nose, a few whiskers, and just barely the face of a very large, rabbit.

Even from where they were, Maya recognized immediately what it was by its odd blonde coloring. "That's it." She whispered. "That's what took Doc."

They all tensed, ready to jump. But it must have read their body language. Without breaking eye contact, it slowly backed away into the darkness of the forest. It blinked and disappeared from view.

The moment it did, the four of them immediately gave chase, like bloodhounds on a trail. Alec and Isaac in the front with Rook just a step behind, having to scoop up Maya bridal style as they took off at a dead sprint. As soon as they broke through the brush they saw it escaping in the distance, dashing between plants and rocks like a leaf flying through a gale. They wouldn't let it get away though. No matter how far it went, they kept it in their sights. They didn't bother keeping track of time. All they knew was the chase. But the rabbit was built for running. They weren't. No matter how determined they were, they were beginning to slow down. Rook was especially being affected, but he wasn't going to show it. He wasn't going to drop Maya, he wasn't going to drop speed, and he sure as hell wasn't going to drop chasing the only thing that could lead them back to their captain.

But Maya, who was the only one not concentrated on running, could tell something was off. "It was much faster than this." She said. Maybe it was because they were in the forest where trees and foliage blocked the path and the ground was uneven compared to smooth roads and open plazas. But that didn't sit right with her. If this monster lived here, it would know its way around better than any person. Yet even so, here they were keeping up with it. And when she put that together with the fact that this beast seemed to have around human intelligence…

Maya tried to push Rook to the ground. "Stop! It's a trap!"

But by then it was too late. Even if Rook wanted to stop, his momentum was already carrying him. Alec and Isaac were so focused that they didn't even hear Maya's warning. When the rabbit leaped across a wide expanse, they bulled through some underbrush only to find the ground pulled out from under them. For the first time, they took their eyes away to look down in horror as they fell.

Thanks to Maya's warning, Rook had enough time to reach out with his arm and grab the dirt cliff as slow their descent. It was painful and he felt his nails crack under the pressure, but he didn't let go. He skidded to a halt not far from where Isaac and Alec were lying in a heap. They groaned, addled from their fall.

Maya pulled out her bubble coral and made a ring for herself to sit on so she could go check on them. Without Doc around, she was the one that needed to make sure they weren't hurt. While she did that, Rook looked around. It looked like they were in some sort of canyon. On all sides, there were only steep cliffs, some made of dirt, others stone. With the sun only just coming up, the whole place was cast in shadows. There were some overhanging trees and even a few growing from the walls. There were caves littered about, but there was one that was larger than the others. It was even decorated with roots and branches.

As Isaac and Alec staggered to their feet, there was a gust of wind and the rabbit was suddenly with them, right in front of the entrance to the intricate cavern. They watched each other for a moment, them in surprise and it in observance. It didn't flinch when they charged, unsheathing their weapons and readying their fists.

"Give us back our Captain!"

The rabbit didn't move. But there was a scuffling of feet and suddenly Doc was blocking their path, his arms outstretched. "Stop!" He shouted. "She isn't our enemy!"

They each reeled themselves in just in time. Doc had three swords around his neck and a fist hovering just above his abdomen. Rook, Isaac, and Alec were wide-eyed with surprise. The first one to react was Rook. He dropped his sword and pulled his Captain into a hug.

"Doc you god damned idiot, you had us worried!" He said.

Doc patted his back fatherly, trying to not let the strain of his cracking spine show from the force of Rook's relief. "There, there. Nothing to fret over." He wheezed. "My situation isn't as bad as I'm sure you've been led to believe."

Isaac also lowered his guard, sighing. He sat down in the dirt and looked up at the sky. "It's too fucking early for this. I want to go back to sleep." He mumbled.

The only ones who were showing their relief were Alec and Maya. Alec had taken his swords away from Doc, but now had them pointed at the rabbit, which was watching them with an uneasy stillness. Maya was the same. She almost shouted with joy that Doc was safe, but she knew that the danger was still around.

"What do you mean by 'situation'?" Maya asked. Her Mermaid Combat wasn't terribly useful on land, especially when she didn't have any water nearby, but she still held her battle stance, ready to strike if the monster even sneezed dangerously.

Alec, who was more than capable of skinning furry animals if they displeased him (and he was quite displeased at the current moment) kept his scimitars ready to slice and dice. "And what do you mean by _she_?"

Doc pulled himself out of Rook's embrace and turned to the rabbit. There was mistrust oozing from her very being. Every pore and hair wanted to hate and dislike them. He was concerned and slowly walked towards her. "You need to show them. I already told you they will be willing to help." He said soothingly. "But they can't think of you as a monster like this kingdom parades you as." He motioned to his crew. "Please. Help them understand."

She observed them all in turn. Doc and his concern, Rook and Isaac and their confusion, Maya and Alec with their guarded looks. She huffed. She sat down so her torso was towering over them by a good two feet, her blonde hair a stark contrast again the stone wall behind her.

They almost jumped out of the skin when her body started contracting. Bone and muscle shrank. Fur receded and her towering ears shortened. When she reached human height, hair bloomed from her scalp in long, luscious, blonde locks that fell to her ankles. Her chest expanded to become a generous bosom and her hips widened to create very attractive curves. The only thing that stayed the same were her eyes. Where once there was a large rabbit, now stood a human. Her hair was the same color as her rabbit fur. Her legs were seductively long and toned. That being said, there was nothing on her they couldn't see. She stood unabashed in her birthday suit.

Rook, Alec, and Isaac lined up, steam shooting from their nostrils as they ogled her up and down.

"Ho-"

"-ly"

"SHIIIIT!"

Doc immediately screamed and draped his lab coat over her. "I didn't mean here! Go put your clothes on!"

The woman didn't bother adjusting the coat to hide herself. She just cocked her head to the side, the very image of a question mark. "I thought you might want to examine my anatomy again." She said in confusion.

"…You wanted to _examine_ her _anatomy_ did you?"

Doc didn't even have time to turn around before Maya was on him.

Alec and Rook clapped their hands together in prayer as their Captain was brutally beaten, his screams and begging going unheeded. "May he find peace in the afterlife." The chimed together.

Isaac was still eying the rabbit-woman. "Lucky bastard." He muttered.

* * *

Doc was kneeling on a pile of jagged rocks, bruises and lumps covering his face. Inside the cavern, the woman was getting dressed. "Alec and Isaac might not realize it, but Bishop's Devil Fruit is in a category called the Paramecian Fruits." He explained. His knees were shaking from the pain of being dug into him. "It is something of a catch all for all sorts of niche and strange powers. There's also a group called the Logia Fruits. Those are much rarer. They let the user become an element of nature. Some of the strongest people in the world are Logia users. The third and last category is a type of fruit called the Zoan Fruit, which lets the user shift between animal forms. That woman is a Zoan user. That's why she can change her shape between a human and a rabbit."

"Hare-Hare Fruit, Model: Jackrabbit." The woman exited the cave…mostly dressed. Her long hair was tied into a tail with some stray vines, though one lock of hair still fell over the right side of her face. Her legs and feet were still bare and the clothes she did have were so worn and old that even Isaac's outfit looked nice. She had a blue button up that only had one button left and left her midriff exposed, showing off her toned stomach. As a bottom she wore a barely functioning pair of khaki overalls. The legs had been torn away so they only covered down to her knees. The straps were still there, but she didn't have them latched around her shoulders. She simply left them hanging down the sides of her legs. "That was the name of the fruit I ate ten years ago and became a Hare Woman.

It was better than being completely naked, but her outfit only served to feed the men's libidos. Isaac, who couldn't contain himself anymore, sauntered up to her, a perverted look on his face. "Hey there, pretty lady. You're looking _damn_ fine." He extended and arm to drape over her. "What say we-."

"Bunny Punch!" Her slender arms belied their strength. She hit Isaac once in the jaw and he was sent sprawling away into the canyon wall. "I don't like him…he smells like Brisk."

From the distance, Isaac screamed, "Fuck you Smelly Piss!"

Doc sweat dropped and cleared his throat, the mood becoming serious again. "I know we came here to relax. But…" He motioned to the woman, "this is my kidnapper. And she needs our help."

* * *

 **And there you have it! What do you all think? I was toying with this chapter for a while, not quite sure where I wanted to go with it. But I'm pretty happy with where it ended up.**

 **Till next time!**


	31. Bunny

**Happy Halloween everyone! Collect candy, frights, and stay away from the clowns!**

* * *

They were sitting in the cave around a small fire. It was there for light more than warmth. The interior was cavernous. There was one large, smoothly cared room, which they were in. There was a hallowed out tree trunk pushed awkwardly to the side. Dried bark was used as a lid, but it didn't fit that well. Through the cracks they could see bundles of cloth and odd lumps of wood. It was probably where she stored her clothes too. There were rocks and logs around the fire which they used as seats. All around were tunnels that lead deeper into the canyon walls. Who knew how far they lead. There might even be a maze down there.

Doc was applying an ointment to his legs. Some of the rocks had pierced his flesh and the last thing he wanted was an infection. Despite his discomfort though, Maya still hadn't forgiven him. She glared at him, but most of her malevolence was directed at the Hare Woman. While they were trying to get comfortable, she merely crouched behind the fire so she could keep an eye on the entrance. If she noticed the animosity directed towards her, she didn't seem to care about it. Isaac and Alec each took position next to her. They eyed her greedily and slowly reached towards her. She didn't so much as twitch until they were just about to touch her. When that happened, rabbit ears sprouted from her head and her arms and legs grew longer. Her hands changed to rabbit paws. Her feet changed as well. They elongated and became rabbit feet. She stood on her toes just like a rabbit, which added two feet to her height. Oddly enough, her ample chest flattened and her hips shrank. She crossed her arms and punched the opposite man in the jaw. "Bunny Punch!"

Alec was knocked over the wooden chest but Isaac went tumbling down one of the tunnels. He rolled down a slope head over heels, a fist imprinted on his cheek. There was a moment of stunned silence from the rest of the crew until they heard him crash into a wall in the deep confines of the cavern.

Isaac roared as he dashed back up. "What the fuck, man!" He yelled. "The hell was that for!?"

"You guys DID grab at her with those perverted looks." Maya huffed. As much as she didn't like the woman, she still felt sorry that she was getting hit on by creeps like them.

"How interesting! Her skin and hair seamlessly transition from human to animal. I doubt even our best plastic surgeons could replicate it so perfectly." Everyone paused. Doc was now looking at the Hare Woman as close as he could without actually touching her. He was circling her like a buzzard at dizzying speeds, focusing on her arms, legs, and ears. Yet despite this, it didn't even seem like she registered him. If anything she looked bored waiting for him to finish. "I wonder what her bone structure looks like. Will they look grafted? Maybe the change will be as smooth as the cosmetics? And what about the increase in muscle mass and decrease in primary feminine features that accompanies the change? How does the fruit compensate for it? And don't even get me started on the ears! Does her skull create an entirely new auditory nerve path too? Oh, what I wouldn't give for an open body examination."

As Doc continued, Rook face palmed, realization dawning on him. "Oh god…open body examination…body examination…examine her body."

Maya immediately cringed and looked at her Captain's legs which were covered in scabs. All three men looked at her with looks of 'You jumped the gun'. But that only caused her to get angry and smack them each on the head.

That made Alec growl. And Doc's blabbering only exasperated his frustration. "Doc, quit acting like a damn fool and get over here!" Doc immediately halted at the outburst and scurried over, looking longingly at the woman's appendages. The thief pointed accusingly at their 'host'. "And you! Quit doing that." He gestured at her body. "It is distracting and freaking me the hell out."

The woman bristled. She narrowed her eyes and her fur stood on end, giving her a feral look. She looked ready to pounce at him, but Doc jumped between them and looked at her pleadingly. She was still for a beat before her ears retracted, her limbs returned to normal, and her chest and hips blossomed out again.

Doc sighed in relief. Alec nodded, pacified. But he was still distrustful. "Okay so you and our captain have something going on. Whatever, I'm getting used to going along with it. But who the hell even are you? What's your name?"

Doc opened his mouth to answer, but then stopped and looked at the woman in confusion. "Actually…I never did get your name."

Maya groaned. "You agreed to help without even knowing her name?"

Doc chuckled and shied away from her. The woman took that as her cue. She tilted her head in thought. "I…don't have a name anymore. They stopped calling me by name after I became a Devil Fruit user."

Isaac snorted. "So? Just cause they stopped doesn't mean that's not your name anymore."

She scrunched her nose in disagreement and shook her head, making her hair sway from side to side. "No…I didn't like that name to begin with. I'd rather be called something else."

"Well how about Rabbit? It's what the country calls her." Alec chimed in scornfully.

Rook smacked him upside the head. "Yeah, let's go ahead and agree with people who think she's a monster. That's reeeeal smooth."

She basically ignored them but still seemed dissatisfied. "I don't like Rabbit. It isn't cute."

Alec snorted while he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh yeah. You look like the 'cute' kind of lady." He muttered to himself.

"Then how about Bunny?" Doc asked. "Not terribly creative, but bunnies are cute sounding, right?"

She tilted her head with a blank face. "Bunny? Hmm…Bunny. Bunny, Bunny, Bunny. Bunny? Bunny! Bunny." Her cheeks colored faintly and she smiled. "Bunny. Call me Bunny."

Alec and Isaac were looking at her. Alec in dismay, Isaac in plain confusion.

"Damn that was hard to listen to." Alec groaned, rubbing his temples.

"Fuckin' train wreck is what it was." Isaac added. "Good thing she's hot though."

Bunny looked at them all in confusion. "I'm Bunny. But why aren't you afraid of me? Everyone here hates me." Despite what she was saying, her voice remained monotone. There wasn't a hint of sadness or hate coloring her words. Mild indifference would be the most accurate way to describe her mannerisms.

Doc chuckled at that. "We've never met a Zoan before. But we're not strangers to Devil Fruit users. Isn't that right, Bishop?" He called to Rook's shadow. There was an awkward moment where Bishop didn't respond. Bunny looked at the doctor in anticipation. Which soon changed to wariness. He was talking to a shadow. Even to her, that was strange.

"Perhaps…you aren't well up here?" She pointed at her head. "Maybe I should have picked a different crew…"

Doc sweated nervously. "Uh…Bishop? You can come out now."

Rook rubbed his neck awkwardly as Maya rolled her eyes and Alec and Isaac held back laughter at their captain's embarrassment. Rook had to end it though. "Uh Doc, he's not here right now."

That took Doc by surprise. Bishop rarely went out on his own. Especially now that he had no mask. "He's not? Then where is he?"

"He's hiding in the Knight Captain's shadow, trying to find you. Some ass named Brisk."

Doc immediately went pale and Bunny's head snapped towards him. She changed into her half-shifted form, growing to loom over them and getting into a sprinting form. Doc fell back and shook his head, his eyes wide as he looked from Bunny to Rook. "No…no, no, no we need to go. Now!" He jumped up and started running for the exit.

They watched their captain scramble with confusion. "The hell's the matter with you?" Isaac asked.

Bunny shifted into her full animal form. Alec retreated from her, cringing at her transformation. Isaac instinctively reached out to touch one of her long ears. But that was met with him being smacked with said ear. She looked at him at eye level, ignoring his groans and grumbles. "Your friend is in danger." She warned. "If Brisk finds this Bishop, you will lose them."

* * *

 **I hope you all liked it!**

 **And please, tell me what you think of Bunny.**

 **Till next time!**


	32. Secret

**Not going to lie to you folks. This chapter might get a little bit graphic. It may not be suitable for all readers; reader discretion is advised. I'll lighten it up as much as I can, but some things can't be cut out otherwise it will affect the flow of the story.**

 **Now that you've been warned, on with the story!**

* * *

Brisk ran through the forest all night long. After the incident with the rabbit, he was calmer, less intense. Torturing the defenseless animal relieved his stress. Now he was thinking more rationally. Exhaustion was setting in. If he didn't rest, he wouldn't be able to kill the monster even if he did find it. But sleeping in the forest was practically suicide. He needed a safe place. He ran up a tall tree and settled down to wait. From there, he would keep vigil. Nothing would be able to sneak up on him. And though sleep tugged at his eyes, he didn't close them. When morning finally came, he jumped down the tree and stretched. He didn't like staying still for so long, but it had been the smartest thing to do. He walked over to a nearby hole and relieved his bladder. That had been the worst part of his vigil. He didn't want to risk getting ambushed at night. That finished, he set off directly north.

When they broke the tree line, a large castle loomed in the distance. It was regal, with promenades and ramparts and even a gatehouse. There was a large garden surrounding it. On either side were two drawbridges that connected to the main road around the island, likely to make it easier to deploy soldiers. It was particularly effective since the people in this country excelled at running. With this set up, no matter where a threat came from, men could immediately set off to defend their king.

Right now, with the kidnapping and the king's appearance in town, the place was practically deserted. There were only two guards at the gate. When they saw Brisk, they became animated.

"Captain Brisk!" One of them shouted in surprise. "We heard about the commotion. Did it really kidnap someone?"

"They said you chased it into the woods! Are we really breaking the law for some pirate?"

Brisk walked right up to them, ignoring their questions. They were taken back by his quiet demeanor. The got out of his way, letting him pass. Unobstructed, he continued towards the castle. But instead of immediately heading inside, he looked back to see he wasn't being watched. Sure enough, the two guards were staring at him incredulously.

He glared at them and barked, "Get back to your station! What will you do if the beast decided to attack right now?"

The guards practically jumped out of their skins and scrambled back to their posts. Satisfied that they wouldn't turn back around, he turned right to go around the building. He continued across the grass until he reached a stretch of wall that had no windows and a garden shed that partially hid him from view. He looked around cautiously. Assured he was alone, he reached down and pulled a handle that was hidden by the grass. It lifted away a trapdoor, revealing a stone stairway. Brisk looked one more time to be sure he wasn't followed before descending into the depths, pulling the door back shut on top of him.

Now Bishop always thought himself an intelligent man. He wasn't swayed by emotion and did what was necessary to get things done. He had seen things people normally didn't see. He'd done things that no one should ever have to do. He didn't flinch away from his duty. He met killing a man with the same cold indifference as when he ate breakfast. And for both he always had something ready, something to ensure his goal was accomplished. At all times he was thinking of various scenarios for every situation they found themselves. It wasn't boasting, simply fact. But right now, his mind couldn't think up a plan. He had no theories, ideas, or even thoughts. There was only one all-consuming objective running through his mind. _Escape_. _Escape, escape, escape, escape, escape._

They were in a circular, stone room. There was a single bed in the center, just beneath the single light that illuminated that portion of the room. And all around them were torture devices. And all of them were in use. In one spot, a Judas cradle. Another was reserved for water torture. Thumbscrews, a few racks, iron maidens, and even a head crusher. At every angle, were people being tortured. Many of them women with only two men. For those who weren't currently being subjugated, chains kept them trapped against the wall. For those, there were no lights in their eyes, only the cold, dead gaze of acceptance. There was no longer any fight in these people. But those that were in the middle of their tortures…screaming. The chamber echoed with screaming. The room was so smoothly shaped that there was nothing to catch the echoes, nothing to erode them. Instead, they just bounced around the room reverberating with never ending sounds of torment.

Many of the victims were bleeding or covered in bruises. There were drains underneath the devices. And from the grime that covered them, it was clear they were used to carry both blood and waste from the room. The men were in worse shape than the women. One was currently being electrocuted, tied to an iron mesh. His skin was blacked and burned from the exposure and every time the electricity pulsed through his body, he screamed until blood coughed out of his throat. The other man was chained to the wall. He was missing an entire leg and a hand. The women didn't receive as rough treatment. While their injuries were numerous, from cuts and open wounds to black eyes and brands, they weren't nearly as severe.

Brisk stretched his arms out and smiled, breathing deeply through his nose. All his fatigue seemed to leech from his body. "It's good to be home." He waltzed over to a woman who was stretched out on a rack. Her blonde hair was ruddy and thin like straw from lack of washing. Her eyes were unfocused. She was especially ragged compared to the rest of the occupants. The others were worse for wear, but they all looked fresh and clothed liked they were recently brought here. But she wore only a soiled white sundress. While she didn't have any cuts and bruises, her limbs were being stretched far passed normal. In fact, it looked like at least one of her legs had popped out of its joint. She was the only one on a device and wasn't screaming. Brisk rubbed her cheek affectionately.

"Hello, pet. You would not believe the night I had." He said, not even trying to raise his voice over the din. She didn't react to his voice, while the others recoiled away. A few women tied to the wall started whimpering. Brisk scowled. He loosened her bindings and allowed her limbs to go slack. But then he grabbed her unresponsive leg and rammed it back into position. The blonde woman screamed in pain. She instinctively tried to grab her leg but Brisk wouldn't let her. He grabbed both her hands in one of his and pinned them above her head. With his free hand, he put pressure on her leg, causing her to scream more. He was breathing heavily and his cheeks flushed at the sound of her anguish.

"Now that…is more like it." He said with a satisfied sigh. "And now that I've got your attention…" He grabbed her face so she couldn't look away from him. "My day started as usual. I bossed around the guards and charmed the masses like the cattle they are…"

He started talking about his encounter with the monster. Bishop droned him out. It was information he already had. He was slowly gathering himself back together over the shock of the situation. He was a pirate. He needed to get used to these sorts of things. Being in Doc's crew was…coddling. They weren't bad pirates. They didn't go around to plunder and rape like most other crews did. The only reason they were wanted was because Doc had a falling out with the Marines. If Bishop had joined any other crew, this might have been a daily encounter.

He needed information. Cold facts to help him deal with the situation. From his angle in the shadow, he couldn't see terribly well. The blonde woman, a couple of others, and Brisk were all he could see. He glanced at Brisk. He was enthralled in telling his story to the poor blonde woman. So he stuck his head out of the hiding place just enough to look around the room. It was difficult to do. The overhanging light kept the shadow almost directly beneath Brisk. Only a small portion stuck out behind him that allowed Bishop to peek out.

Eight prisoners in total. All of them attractive, young…and blonde. Brisk seemed to have a fetish. And despite how haggard she was, it was easy to imagine how beautiful Brisk's current conversation partner was. Bishop had a hard time believing she, or any of them, were criminals deserving of this treatment. As stereotypical as it was, the more attractive someone was, the less likely they were to break the law. No, as for now, Bishop could only assume these were innocent people or possibly slaves brought here only to for Brisk's entertainment.

He moved on to the rest of the room. He put the prisoners in the back of his mind. The only way in or out was the staircase they came from. And from Brisk's actions coming in, it was clear this place was a secret. Of course it would be. Brisk was the captain of the knights. He wouldn't have achieved that rank if there was anyone who knew about this. But that also made Bishop wonder how he made this place. Was it some sort of underground storage beforehand? Or had Brisk built it. If he did, how could he without anyone knowing about it? This was on castle property. Could he be keeping this a secret from the king?

He calmly shook his head and sank back into the shadow. Questions for later. The way out was inaccessible. As it was now, the shadow was too small for Bishop to squeeze out of. And even if he could, he was too close to Brisk. As enamored as he was with his current conversation partner, it would be near impossible to miss someone crawling out of your shadow at this distance. Unfortunately, he was as imprisoned as the others were.

Brisk rotated the torture device occupants. He stopped to listen to a fresh batch of screaming before yawning and hopping into the bed at the center of the room. He closed his eyes and smiled like a child being tucked into bed with a lullaby.

And so Bishop waited. And planned. This was the man sent to find Doc. And Bishop would do everything in his power to make sure his Captain never fell into Brisk's hands.

* * *

 **There you go. Do tell me what you thought of it. Personally, I didn't want to write the details I did. But it is all for the story…I'm going to go play Pokemon until I feel better.**

 **Till next time.**


	33. Grisly Remembrance

**And we're back. I hope you all enjoyed a very pleasant Thanksgiving. I certainly did. And I give thanks to you all by giving you another chapter. Here's to you.**

 **Although I am going to put another warning hear. Things get a bit dark at the end of the chapter. If you don't like scenes or descriptions similar to last chapter, use your discretion in reading.**

* * *

It hadn't been hard to make their way out of the forest. Without the need to search every nook and cranny, they made it back to the tree line in no time. Sneaking back into town was a lot harder. There were still guards posted everywhere. If they were just back with Doc, it would be different. They could simply say they rescued their captain from the monster. But now they have that monster in their company. So they ended up waiting half a day waiting for the guards to change shifts and sneak back in while there was temporarily no eyes on the forest.

Now they were walking through a busy street as calmly as can be. Rook, Maya, and Alec were calm at least. Doc, who was missing his lab coat, had the worst poker face imaginable. He was as stiff as a robot as he walked and his eyes were darting around in every direction. It was clear he was hiding something. Even nearby children thought he acted strange. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Isaac was walking around shirtless and full of confidence. Every time he passed a woman, he would flex or whistle or make a show of himself. It didn't matter that most looked away awkwardly at his display, because despite his haggard clothing and unkempt self, he was fit. There were at least three or four passing ladies that eyed him up appreciatively and one who even wolf whistled at him.

It was well enough that he was attracting all the attention though. It drew eyes away from the person standing in between them all. Bunny was back in her human form. And to help her stay incognito, she was wearing the white lab coat and Isaac's hood, which had been repurposed as a hood. It was filthy and Bunny had been beyond resistant to putting it over her head, but she gave in once she realized there wasn't any other way to get her in town. But now that she was here, all of her instincts wanted her to leave. She'd spent years hiding from people and now here she was completely surrounded by them. Who knew what would happen to her if she was discovered.

They were on their way to the inn to come up with a plan. Now that they were out of the forest, they didn't need to worry about running into Brisk unprepared. They were almost there, just a block away when a guard called them from behind. "Hey you there! Stop!"

On pure reflex, Bunny's muscles tightened as she prepared to run. Rook put a hand on her shoulder. If she ran now, their cover would be blown. Bunny snapped towards him, her pupils wide. He met her gaze and shook his head ever so slightly so the guard wouldn't see.

She looked first at him, then at his hand. She shoved it off and turned her back to both him and the guard. She understood but that didn't mean he could touch her.

The guard had a bit of an overbite and his eyes drooped lazily. But even so, if he was a guard in this county, he would be able to outrun any of them, except Bunny of course. So Doc turned and greeted the man. "Yes, sir? How can I help you?"

He was met with a suspicious look over. "Ain't you the pirate that was kidnapped yesterday?"

The group froze. Crap. They hadn't thought about Doc getting recognized. He had very few interactions with the townsfolk beyond the inn and the carpenter. At most they should know his basic description. Doc gulped and started sweating profusely. "I-I'm sorry? I d-don't know w-what you're talking about." He lied. Obviously. His crew cringed. A baby could see through him.

The guard scoffed at him and leaned closer, squinting at Doc suspiciously. "What are you's playin' at? There's no way ya wouldn't know 'bout the kidnappin'! The monster? Bargin' inta town and takin' people? Ringin' any bells in that head o' yours?"

Maya's eye twitched in irritation. The guard was being more condescending than the situation required. She hated men like that. She wanted to drag him to the ocean and teach him some manners.

Doc swallowed. "O-Oh yes! Now I remember. T-Terrible thing, that. Truly unfortunate. But if I was kidnapped by a monster, why would I be here now?" He asked, trying to reason with the man shakily.

The guard stared at him before leaning back to normal and rubbing his chin in thought. "You know, you's right. I haven't heard from the captain about anything yet. But I coulda sworn you was the guy." He scratched his head and shook his head. "Sorry 'bout calling you out like that." He bowed. "My mistake. You's guys go on and enjoy the festival. And don't go causin any trouble or I'm gonna halfta come back out here and teach ya a lesson." He looked at Isaac dourly. "And you's! Go put a shirt on! You's disturbin' the normal folks."

The guard left, probably to resume his post, and they all sighed.

"Dumbass. Calling us out like that. Nearly shit myself." Isaac grumbled.

"What's the matter? Can't handle a little pressure?" Alec asked, snidely.

"You wanna say that again? I'll kick your ass!" The bandit challenged.

Maya smacked them both. "You're causing a scene." She hissed. All around them, people were starting to stare. And attention was something they didn't want.

Doc started forward again, ushering them all. "Let's go. The sooner we get inside the sooner we can plan."

* * *

The room Doc rented wasn't meant for six people. There was one bed, a desk, a lamp, and nothing else. So their setup became Doc and Maya sitting on the bed while Rook, Alec, and Isaac stood awkwardly next to each other and Bunny crouched near the door so she was close to the exit. She ripped off her makeshift hood and threw it at Isaac's head.

"Smelly…" She complained.

Isaac sniffed at her and tossed the shirt on the floor. It was ripped so he didn't really want to put it back on.

Then she pulled off Doc's lab coat and handed it back to him with a small, "Thanks." The doctor smiled and laid it across his lap.

"Alright, we're here. Now why the hell is it so bad for Bishop to be with that poser?" Alec asked. His arms were crossed and he wasn't happy being pressed so close to the shirtless Isaac.

Bunny shivered. "That man is…wrong. Sadistic isn't strong enough to describe him." She explained softly. "Ever since I was small, I was forced to be his…friend. I know him better than anyone. We would play in the yard and he would see small animals or critters. Most kids think they're cute. He thinks they are adorable."

"Adorable? What do you mean?" Maya asked questioningly. She thought dolphins were adorable. There wasn't anything strange about that.

"He doesn't think like we do." Bunny continued. "When he sees something cute, he wants to make them…normal. He wants to ruin them." Her eyes wandered to the far window near the bed. "There used to be lots of rabbits and small animals on this island. You could find them anywhere. But the Brisk got his hands on them. The first time he got hold of a rabbit, he strangled it to death. His father caught him. I was so scared I couldn't move. But his father went ahead and buried the rabbit right there in the yard. Brisk was scolded harshly. And the next day, I went outside to see he'd found another one, but instead of killing it he broke all of its legs. It was screaming…his father caught us again. He killed the rabbit by hitting it with a large stick. It was buried next to the previous one. It continued like that day after day after day. Eventually there wasn't any more room in the yard. We were only five years old."

"Oi oi." Rook said worriedly. He didn't like where this was headed. The thought of a child doing this was making him feel nauseated. Maya also looked unsettled. Hell, even Alec was sickened and he didn't even care about children.

"When his father asked him why he acted that way, Brisk only responded, 'it makes me feel good'. His father didn't know what to do. So he did nothing but cover up what his son did. But Brisk only got worse as he grew older. He found new and inventive ways to bring pain to others. The wild animals stopped coming out of the forest not long after he turned seven. And with nothing to torture, he started showing signs similar to withdrawal. He got irritable and twitchy. He would spend days going from place to place, looking for something small. When nothing came, he moved on to the only thing that didn't run away, the local pets. He would sneak into people's homes and capture their pets with bags. Cats and small dogs weren't so much bigger than rabbits after all. But people started noticing that their animals were disappearing one after another. Brisk's father didn't want it being traced back to his son, so he locked him inside. He ordered me to keep him company and give him food. I didn't want to but I had no choice. It was like that for three years. Brisk was growing more and more restless. Normally I could keep him calm. I would tell him stories or play with him and he would be fine. But he started ripping off his fingernails and chewing on them. He took a fork once and carved it through the walls of his room. So on Brisk's tenth birthday, his father went out late one night. I was worried about being trapped with Brisk that late at night. He was getting edgier and he kept looking at me. I kept myself away, but he kept getting closer until I was in a corner. Then his father came back. He led us by hand to the basement. He'd caught a thief and tied him up in the basement. His father explained, 'Nobody will look for him. You can practice on him'. He showed him a table with knives and tools and scary implements. 'It's your birthday gift. Do whatever you want!' his father told him happily. It was like he'd brought home a puppy for a normal child. Then he showed Brisk, taught him, how best to torture that thief. They wouldn't let me leave. So I sat down and covered my ears and cried. At some point the man stopped screaming. I opened my eyes to see them both standing over me. There was blood covering both of them. I don't know what they did with the thief's body. I don't remember. But Brisk wasn't satisfied yet. A-And…" Bunny choked for a second. The words were streaming out of her but she didn't cry. Her eyes weren't even misting over. But in that one moment she slipped and the words stopped.

She opened her mouth once and no words came. She tried again with a bit more success. "I was the only one down there who'd seen. He said he couldn't let me tell anyone. I promised I wouldn't tell. Begged them to let me go. I thought they would. Brisk told him father that he thought I was pretty. He didn't want to mark me. So his father showed him how best to hurt me without leaving marks. I screamed the entire time. I begged them to stop. Brisk never did. They did things to me. Took things from me. At one point I was shaved. Brisk took my hair. But I wasn't killed. I was even allowed to live a normal life to a point. I learned to block out the pain. When we became adults, Brisk told his father he wanted a wife. I cried tears of joy. If he found a wife, he would leave me alone and torture her instead. I was so happy that I was going to be freed from that hell. But the next day it was announced that _I_ was going to be his wife…"

"Wait wait wait wait!" Isaac interjected. His face was pale and he couldn't stomach much more of this story. So he latched on to the one thing that sounded sane in his mind. "How the hell can someone announce you are getting married without your consent? Why the hell didn't you fucking run away? Who the hell is his old man if he can get away with this shit!" He screamed.

Bunny just stared at him. She tilted her head in a confused manner. "I thought you knew." She said flatly, like she hadn't just been discussing something that could make even a seasoned bandit cringe.

"His father is Lepus Longrun, King of Long Run Island."

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 **Another chapter I didn't overly enjoy writing. I tried to steer it lighter at the beginning, but it still ended up dark. Ugh. Going to drink eggnog and hot chocolate. You can't be sad drinking that.**

 **Till next time!**


	34. It's Time to Make a Plan

**There's snow on the ground and I am as happy as can be. May your winters be white and your snow a fine coat!**

 **On another note, this chapter is a little late since I've been having ear problems. And when you can't hear out of one ear, everything goes out of whack and dizzying. Makes concentrating a bit difficult.**

 **Now then, on with the story.**

* * *

"I was just a baby wen my parents died. There aren't any orphanages so the king adopted me as a show of charity and good faith. He never intended to treat me like a daughter. I was given to the maids and raised to be a servant to the crown. But when the prince had trouble connecting to children his age, I was refitted as Brisk's best friend. And when I grew up pretty, he took more and more interest in me. With no family to vouch for me, there weren't any people that could tell them no when they announced my engagement to Brisk. I would have gone mad with despair but I had one last ditch effort. There's a law in this country. Before any marriage proposal, a woman has the right to challenge her suitor to a race. If she wins, she can turn down the engagement on the basis that his genes won't produce a fast child."

"The king saw my challenge as a good opportunity. And with it being the prince's engagement, the press wanted a big show. So they scheduled it for the yearly Big Race. I was faster than him. I had to be. If I wanted to avoid being his plaything, I had to run. I became fast out of the desire to survive. They knew that. They knew on race day I would come out on top. But they couldn't have that. Speed is everything here if someone was faster than the royal bloodline, and even went so far as to prove it in front of the entire populace, it could turn into a challenge for the throne."

"But things were already set in motion. They couldn't cancel so they went to other means. Using a large amount of the kingdom's finances, they bought a certain devil fruit. The Hare Hare Fruit, Model: Jackrabbit. It was known to accentuate the eater's speed. If Brisk won the race…I would have killed myself. So I stole the fruit and ate it in front of them. It tasted horrible but I didn't leave so much as a piece for him."

"I couldn't control it that well at first. I kept shifting between forms. The king saw his opportunity and rallied the troops. He told the people that I was a monster in disguise. It didn't take long for the whole island to turn on me. I tried to hide in the cities but every time I changed they would chase me out with weapons. In the end, I fled into the forest. It was against the law, but I was a criminal at that point anyway."

The crew were listening intently to Bunny's tale. And honestly it was one they wished they never heard. Doc, who heard it before, looked sickened all the more the second time around. Bunny wasn't crying or teary eyed. In fact she said every word with leveled indifference. It was almost creepy how robotic she was concerning her own misfortune.

"I learned how to survive on my own. I would make brief appearances in town to get basic necessities but I couldn't stay long. The only interactions I had with people would be the loggers that obtained special permission to enter the forest to get building materials. And even then sometimes they would try to cut off my feet as trophies. Maybe the king offered a reward for proof of my death."

"Wait, so if you are being hunted at every turn, why the hell don't you just leave this place? That's what I did." Alec interjected. Though the last part was more to himself than to Bunny.

Bunny looked irritated for the first time. "I tried. My first attempt to stowaway on a merchant's ship was found out. One of the crew found me hiding in a crate. After that, the king ordered the guards to search every ship that leaves the island. I tried bribing a crew once. But when the time came, they caved to the king's demands. Didn't try leaving after that."

"Hey, hey, wouldn't they _want_ you to leave." Isaac asked. "If you're gone, they wouldn't need to worry about an uprising or shit right? Seems like a win-win."

Rook shook his head. "No. If she left, she might just come back later. They couldn't risk that." He explained. He may not have been in the Navy, but he'd made enough weapons for enough royalty that he caught on to how the general system worked. If there was even the slightest chance of usurping the throne, the king did everything they could to squash it.

Bunny nodded in agreement. "Then as years went by, I noticed something. Every year this festival would bring tourists from all over. Even pirates would show up. And pirates didn't have to obey the king since they were already criminals. If I could just find a crew to take me, I could leave this island."

Doc sighed sadly. "And there you have it. So…what do you all think?"

He didn't outright say it and neither did she but the message was there. Would they escort Bunny off the island? Luckily for her, Isaac and Alec both gave their consent easily enough.

"I don't fuckin' care. She's hot so I'm good."

"Yeah, whatever. Not like the decision is really ours. You've already made up your mind about it, haven't you?"

But that wasn't the case. Maya and Rook in turn raised their objectives.

"So you just want us to cause trouble with a kingdom just to save one person?" Maya asked coldly. "It isn't that I don't understand her situation or where she's coming from, but isn't this too much?"

"Even if we do agree, won't they just chase us out to sea? There's no guarantee that her troubles will be over once she leaves. She'll be hunted by this kingdom for her entire life." Rook supplemented. Agitation pulled at his lips. "And because of all this, Bishop is shadowing a psycho. Before I agree to anything, we go and get my brother." He growled.

Bunny looked at him in uncertainty. "Your brother, is that the Bishop Doc mentioned?"

Rook inclined his head. "Yeah. He's a Devil Fruit user. His powers let him hide in just about anything. When Brisk went into the forest, Bishop hid in his shadow to follow him in case he found you first. He wanted to be sure he could get Doc out of there if Brisk decided to collect on his bounty."

"What are the chances he'll be found." Bunny asked hesitantly. She didn't want to say it directly, but if Bishop was caught he would either be killed or become Brisk's plaything.

Isaac rolled his eyes. "Oi, don't go killing him off." He said gruffly, sensing what she was thinking. "Not a damn person alive can find him when he's hiding."

Rook looked at him sideways. He was torn between his residual anger at Isaac and actual concern for his brother. But here was a man he wanted to hate having nothing but faith in his abilities while he did nothing but worry like a mother hen. He sighed, trying to breathe the irritation out. "Okay. So we got Doc, we got Bunny, now we just need to get Bishop back and we can ship out. So we should head back into the forest?" His question was open ended, not knowing himself what direction they should take.

Maya shook her head. "We got lucky we even found Doc. And that was only because Bunny came out and led us to him. I doubt we'll have enough luck to just run into Brisk now that we're looking for him. The place is huge, he could be anywhere."

Bunny shivered. "I won't go looking for him. I'll only face him if I have time to plan. I can't do that while tracking." She said. Her sense of hearing was heightened in her animal forms. Given enough time, should could find Brisk without a doubt. But deep inside, she was still scared of the man. She would avoid it at all possible. But traipsing through the forest wasn't their only option. "If you think your friend really won't be found, we wait till Race Day."

They all gazed at her. She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "No matter how much he wants to find me, Brisk won't skip the race. It proves the fastest runner on the island, if he doesn't compete he'll lose that title. He'll never let that happen."

Doc looked nonplussed at the prospect. "But we have no certainty that he actually _will_ come. If he's as fixated on you as you've described, he might be willing to skip the race and reclaim his title next year so long as you fall back into his hands." He disagreed. "Bishop is our precious crewmate. We can't gamble his life on uncertainties."

They all fell silent. That would have been the best plan. Wait for the race, ambush Brisk, and give Bishop a chance to escape his shadow unnoticed. But Doc was right. What if he didn't show? They might really have to pursue him back into the forest.

"Then _you_ enter the race."

Their attention was turned to Maya. She was fixated on Bunny. "We'll use you as bait. If he knows you are going to be there, he'll show up to find you." Confidence was welling up in her as the plan unfolded in her mind. "You'll know the place, you'll have time to plan. Isn't that all you need to face him?"

Eyes slowly slid to the other woman, waiting to see how she would react. She was absolutely still. Such an obvious plan didn't even occur to her. It even gave her the stage she needed to prove she was faster than him in front of everyone, ending any chance of their marriage once and for all. She smiled slowly. For the first time since they met her, a fierce smile split her features. "Perfect."

They each steeled themselves. They had two days to prepare. Two days to reclaim their crewmate and escape this island. It was time to make a battle-plan.

* * *

 **This one might be a little shorter but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.**

 **Till next time!**


	35. Whispers

**Well it has been a while hasn't it? Unfortunately, the month of December and the beginning of January are hard on me at work. Busy, busy, busy, busy. But now that the holidays are over and I have my freedom again, I can get back to writing chapters.**

 **Now then, without further ado, on with the story!**

* * *

Alec and Isaac were trudging down a busy street. Isaac was slumped forward and glared straight ahead, daring anyone to get in his way. It took his already rough demeanor and turned it into a real bandit character. It was a stance he only took when he didn't want anyone talking to him. Likewise, Alec was openly wearing his scimitars which was against the kingdom's law. To help with their image, he was leering at every woman they passed, even licking his lips a few times just to add more creepiness. Their combined image served to drive away anyone that got too close. Men avoided eye contact with the hostile Isaac and women practically fled when Alec drooled over them. And since they weren't doing anything illegal, there wasn't a thing the police could do about it aside from grinding their teeth in frustration and tail them from a distance.

That being said, they were still garnering a lot of attention. As is usually the case when two ruffians wander around, people watch them through the corners of their eyes. The two nodded affirmations before Isaac started talking. "Shit why did we even come to this place? There's fucking monsters running around and the guards ain't doing a thing about it!" Heads turned and people tripped at his exclamation. He was obviously talking loud enough for all of them to hear. He was goading them and they were falling for it.

Now with their undivided attention, Alec responded with the same volume, but added a sinister twist to his speech pattern. "I know, right!? How can I pick up chicks when they're too scared to walk around at night?" He licked his lips and left his tongue hanging out the corner of his mouth. "But I heard that the creature is actually a smoking hot babe with long legs and a huge rack! Huuu~ The things we could do with a woman like that!" He made groping motions and intentionally started to drool.

Many of the women shivered and backed away from them while some made threatening steps to go confront them, only subdued by the men around them. Isaac tried to act inconspicuous and muttered under his breath, "Dude, chill with that perv vibe you got going. This ain't gonna do shit if we get jumped."

Alec didn't even change his face when he shot back, "Piss off. If I switch it up now they'll get suspicious." Though he knew he might have overdone it a little. If he got too vulgar that would give the police hiding in the alley on their right the excuse they need to arrest them.

Isaac cleared his throat, sweating a little as people kept edging closer to them angrily. "R-Right! And you might get your chance at the race!"

Alec's mouth fell open with his tongue wagging in the air. "Eh? What do you mean, brother?"

Isaac laughed proudly. "Well I heard on the grapevine that the monster signed up for the big race! We'll both get a chance to see her!"

They stopped in their tracks like they had been shoved by some unseen force. Muttering sprouted from every mouth, dumbstruck by the audacity of that statement. The monster? In the race? Surely the king wouldn't allow that beast to participate! Only humans should be allowed in.

One man couldn't believe what he heard. In confusion, he went to the source to demand what he meant by that. But Alec and Isaac were no longer there. They had simply vanished while they were distracted. With no other recourse, people scattered. They went in search of someone, anyone, that could assure them that what they just heard wasn't true.

* * *

In a town far to the north, near the palace, Maya sat comfortably in a beauty salon. The entire place was coated with pink and pastel purples with light yellows and baby blues. There were ten chairs all lined up in a rows each with a sink and mirror with an assortment of care products. On shelves lining the walls were shampoos and soaps and make-up kits. It was a pretty popular place with the women in town, an excellent place to stir up rumors. When she arrived, she was met with awe and curiosity. Most mermaids were born with naturally smooth and shiny skin so the human women marveled at her complexion.

She relaxed with a content sigh. This is what a vacation should be like. A manicurist was attending her nails while girls asked her for beauty advice and an older attendant ran a comb through her hair serenely.

A teenager was sitting in the chair next to her, chatting away like a typewriter. In fact, Maya was finding it rather annoying. That was as good a reason as any to ruin someone's day.

"And, like, oh my god! He. Is. So. HOT!" She squealed. In her hands she held a poster of Brisk posing with the title 'Fastest Alive!' The girl kept going, ogling the picture. "Like, what I wouldn't give to race that man. Aaah~ It would totally be the best day of my life!"

Maya chuckled to draw the girl's attention. Her tail swayed gracefully as the manicurist blew on her nails and filed them. "I wouldn't get all hot and bothered with someone like that, dearie." She taunted with her eyes closed.

The girl guffawed. "Um…excuse you?"

Maya smiled at her, not moving from her relaxed position. "Listen, hon, I've seen him in action and I wasn't all that impressed. 'Fastest Alive' seems a bit like false advertising."

The girl jumped out of her seat, disturbing her attendant and brandishing the poster at the mermaid. "Listen here, you no legged… _freak_! What does someone who can't even walk know about speed?"

Maya lifted one eyelid, unconcerned about the outburst. But inside, she was broiling. This little girl was acting superior to her. It made her want to washboard her to teach her a lesson. But this was to get Bishop back so she held her anger in check. "Speed isn't only relative to _running_ , human. Should we take this to the beach so I can show you what real speed is?" That shut the girl up. As confident as these people were in their running abilities, they would be completely naïve if they thought they could outswim a merfolk. But maybe she was pushing it too far. If she berated them too hard, things would turn sour. Besides…she was having a nice time. She stretched, pushing her chest out and reaching her arms above her head. "But I guess Brisk isn't completely without merit." She added offhandedly. "Put him on land and our Prince Fukaboshi in the sea. A race around the circumference of the island. Now _that_ would be a competition worth seeing."

That seemed to have done the trick. Rather than putting Brisk down, she was inflating him by putting on level with the prince of all merfolk. She had absolutely no delusions that Brisk stood the slightest chance, but everyone else in the room started fantasizing. Even the teen fangirled over the notion. Maya really didn't know how much these people knew about Merfolk. Not that much if they thought a human can run faster than they can swim. She shook her head ever so slightly. Time to give them the final push. "Although, if the rumors are true, that Brisk of yours might not hold the title of 'Fastest Alive' for much longer."

That got their attention back on her. "Um, like, what are you saying? There, like, isn't a person alive that can beat him." She pointed out sternly.

Maya leaned back so the old woman could continue grooming her hair. "Haven't you heard? Apparently that monster of yours is going to be competing in the competition. And if Brisk really is the fastest person here, then shouldn't have caught it by now?" Faces across the parlor paled. Several women gasped at the mention of the beast. Soft whispers could be heard. "Look, I'm not trying to ruin your fun, but things might be a little more interesting this year if that creature really does show up." Out of the corner of her eye, a few women left the salon, looking back at her worriedly. She smiled. The embers are lit, now to just wait for her rumor to spread like wildfire. Until then, her only duty was to be pampered and have her nails done.

* * *

Rook, Doc, and Bunny were squatting in the hotel room. Doc was laying on his bed with his hat covering his face while Rook was leaning near the door and Bunny still crouched in the corner. Things were a little more space without all six of them there, but Rook, at least, still wanted to get out of there.

As if reading his thoughts, Doc said from under his hat, "You CAN leave, you know."

Rook's eye twitched. "And leave you here alone? I don't think so." He argued. "We don't know what Brisk is doing right now. What if he saw us leave the forest and is waiting for you and Bunny to be alone? Your bounty isn't something to sneeze at, Doc." He rolled his neck and felt his muscles stretch and relax. He was tense, and not just because he'd been leaning against a wall for the past few hours. "Besides, if that ass does show up, I've got some pent up aggression that needs releasing."

The captain grimaced. They were being careful like this on purpose. But he still didn't want his crew having a bad time because he went and got involved. He truly did feel bad about ruining their vacation. But he held firm that this was the right choice. Someone was in need. He would have hated himself for the rest of his life if he had just turned his back. He tilted his hat to so he could see Bunny, huddled in the corner. They would get Bishop back. They would escape this place. After that, what Bunny did was up to her.

He grinned, catching Rook's attention. "You know, considering Maya, Alec, and Isaac have finished up with their ends, Alec is probably putting the finishing touches right about now."

That made Rook smile too. "Yeah, sometimes it's good to have a thief on the team." He laughed. "This entire plan would be botched if it weren't for him…but don't let him know I said that. He'd never let it go and then I'd have to beat him into being quiet. And that just makes me feel like Maya."

* * *

Alec had long since parted ways with Alec after spreading their rumor. He shuddered. Acting like a perv with his tongue handing out made him feel ill. Any chance he had at actually finding a girl around here was crushed. He sighed forlornly. Oh well. Without a woman, he'd at least save some money.

Now here he was drinking his fourth cup of tea at a café. He didn't even like tea but that was all this cruddy place served. It also had the only view of his target. Said target was a large board right in the center of the plaza. It was covered in one giant paper that had name after name listed on it. It was the size of a small building and just as wide. There were three ladders in front of it, letting people climb up to see the various names and even write down their own on it. This was the board where the contestants of the big race wrote their names for entry. At the beginning everyone's names were more or less in order. Naturally the first name on the list was Brisk's. The king never participated in this race. From what he gathered, many of the previous kings did just that, but they won every time. The people got agitated that their king kept flaunting his speed in front of them so one wise king ruled that it was unfair for the king to enter. It actually worked. With a citizen then capable of taking first place, the people became much happier about the competition.

Scattered here and there were names completely out of numerical order. Some people had lucky numbers they wanted to be assigned to. Others just didn't want to climb the ladder. Either they were lazy or afraid of heights, he didn't know. But he'd been observing things for a while now. Every hour or so, there would be a swell of participants writing down their names on the list. After that, there would be a lull where few if any people stepped forward. The last surge just left. Now was the moment he'd been drinking nasty ass tea for. He put the money he owed on the table (something he wouldn't have done if he wasn't worried about drawing attention to himself) and casually walked down the street. When he was out of view, he turned around and proceeded at a normal pace towards the board. In his hand, he had a pen. He could feel tension rising in his mind as he approached the list. A quick glance told him nobody was particularly watching. He passed the end of the list and, faster than anyone could notice, wrote down a name in the last place.

'BUNNY'

* * *

 **There you are everyone! Let me know what you thought of the chapter.**

 **Until next time!**


	36. The Race Begins

**Welcome back folks! Shall we continue on our way through? Ready? Set? Go!**

 **On with the story!**

* * *

It was Race Day. With one exception, they were all gathered around the small window afforded to their room. The sun was only just peaking over the horizon but the streets were swarmed with people. Some were cheering, their eyes filled with excitement. Others were stoic and determined, obvious participants in the coming contents. The air was charged. But in their confines, three was a different sort of tension.

"Ready?"

Bunny stood up from her crouched position near the door. There was cold fire inside her. A resolution both furious and calm. She tightened her fists and nodded. "I will win."

"This better work. Rook said. "If anything happens to my brother, I am tearing this island apart piece by piece. Understood?"

For Bunny, those words meant nothing. This place was her prion. Seeing it destroyed wouldn't bring her the despair he was threatening her with. What she didn't realize was it wasn't directed at her. This was not a threat on her but a statement to his crew. Doc stepped up to warn him against such actions, to remind him of his promise to not shed unnecessary blood. But Maya pulled him back. If they tried to prevent his will in this, it would be Rook who'd feel betrayed. They needed to have faith in their smith, to remember that even in a fit of rage he wouldn't retaliate on innocent people. Doc stepped back.

Bunny donned a cloak as they took a protective formation around her, Rook taking lead, Isaac and Alec flanking, and Doc taking the rear. Maya wished them all luck. She wanted to join them, but she had her own plans to see to. All she could do was hope everything went as planned.

* * *

The problem with hiding was that it was easy to lose track of time. Doubly so when your surroundings consisted of the screams of torture victims and the sobbing of captives. He'd only had one reprieve when they scoured the forest the next morning. Then Brisk caught wind of the first wave of rumors. Entry into the forest was banned with the exception of loggers who were allowed to harvest the forest's wood. He was near their encampment when he heard them gossiping. Brisk immediately left to find out the truth, and by the time he reached the king, the entire county was buzzing.

The monster had entered the race.

"How can this happen!" Brisk demanded, barging into the throne room. "That _bitch_ can't enter the race. Only citizens are allowed. Erase her from the registry!"

Bishop found it odd that he could just shout and make stipulations to a king. Most royalty would imprison or at lease chide someone for such an outburst. But Lepus just brushed it off. In his hand he held a copy of the last name on the register. 'Bunny'.

He never took his eyes off that name. "We have no proof it is her." He told Brisk calmly. "Many racers go under monikers, trying to give themselves mystique or to surprise friends and loved ones." He shook his head and set the paper down on the arm of his throne. "No. There are no witnesses who saw the person write their name on the ledger. They timed it well." He looked at his captain of the guard. "And it was _our_ decision to not have her officially excommunicated from our list of citizens. We hoped to bring her back so she may fulfill her duties to you. We couldn't do that if she didn't belong to Long Run Island." He took a moment to contemplate before stating, "She has grown in the wilderness. We run for our pride, she runs for her survival."

Brisk scoffed. "Oh knock it off father." There was an uncaring contempt in his voice. "I offered her a kingdom. To be my queen! Now she hides in trees and jumps between buildings. God knows the last time she stretched her legs on an open road." He smiled to himself, a small, secretive one which spoke of hidden thoughts. At the word 'stretch', images of several devices in Brisk's room came to Bishop's mind. He would hazard a guess that Brisk was thinking the same thing.

But father, huh? That certainly explained how he had access to his little hideaway. If a king knew his son was a psychopath, he would do his utmost to keep it secret.

"She was born to serve me." Brisk continued. "She was raised to belong to me. Don't over glorify her by comparing us. She is mine. And I will prove it once and for all."

"Hmm. So you are accepting this challenge of hers." Lepus considered that. "I have not but faith in you, my son." He confided. "But love must always come second when one is king. If she proves faster, our power base will fracture. We'll be open for revolt. I have no doubt that we can solve that problem should it come, but what if one of our neighboring countries decides to attack while we are in a civil war?" He stood up and started pacing. "We cannot act rashly. If you truly wish to race and claim her, then we must make preparations that ensure you succeed."

Brisk reined in his anger and smiled at his king. "Father?"

Lepus nodded his consent and waved his dismissal. "Go. Train. Rest. Indulge yourself. Do whatever you feel necessary to be in top form. I will take care of the rest.

Brisk's smile became deranged as he turned his back. Lepus would plan while Brisk…relaxed. Meaning Bishop would be exposed to two more days' worth of torture and captivity.

* * *

"GOODMORNING EEEEVERYBODYYY!" Fireworks shot into the air, filling the sky with sparks visible in the purple color of the new day horizon. The registration board had been taken down and replaced with a podium with a large projector screen. In front of that screen was a small stand with a snoozing Transponder Snail on it. And waving at the sea of people gathered to see the spectacle was a man dressed in a loud fashion. He wore a bright purple suit with neon green polka dots, a hot pink bowtie, and a maroon top hat with a yellow stripe down the middle. He had big-toed, blue shoes that were near comical in their size. In one hand, he held a mic. Underneath his hat, a small tuft of blonde hair puffed out and swayed in the breeze. Everything about him oozed cheerfulness.

Putting that mic back to his mouth, he introduced himself. "MY NAME IS PORTUNAS AND I'LL BE _YOUR_ HOST FOR THIS YEARS! ANNUAL! BIG RACE COMPETITIOOOON!" The crowd went wild. Cheers and whistles. Many called out the names of their favorites with a resounding 'Brisk' being bellowed by a vast majority.

Portunas basked in it for a bit before waving for them to all calm down. When the volume fell to acceptable levels, he continued. "NOW YOU ALL AT HOME KNOW THE RULES, BUT LET'S GO OVER THE RACE FOR ALL THOSE FAR FLUNG FANS VISITING THE ISLAND FOR THE FIRST TIME." The Transponder Snail behind him snapped awake and scenery streamed from its eyes to the screen behind Portunas. It was an overview given to them by workers in a hot air balloon far above the island. Using a thin baton, Portunas pointed to the southernmost town on the island. "THE RACE STARTS RIGTH HERE IN SOUTH TOWN." He informed them. "FROM HERE, EACH COMPETITOR RACES COUNTER-CLOCKWISE TO EACH CHECKPOINT IN EVERY TOWN ON LONG RUN ISLAND." He pointed at each town in the order the racers would reach them until he circled back to South Town. "THE FIRST RACER TO MAKE IT BACK AND CROSS THE FINISH LINE _WINS_ AND GETS ALL THE BRAGGING RIGHTS INCLUDED AS BEING THE FASTEST MAN, OOOR WOMAN, ON THE ISLAND." Women in the crowd cheered and squealed and made rude comments to the men. "WATCH THAT LANGUAGE, LADIES!" He added with a laugh. Everyone chuckled, enjoying the playful competition.

"HOOOWEEEVER!" The interruption caught everyone by surprise. The race had never consisted of anything than running. Had something changed. Portunas marked the confusion and smiled confidently "OUR GOOD KING LEPUS LONGRUN HAS DECIDED TO ADD A FEW EXTRA RULES THIS YEAR TO SPICE. THINGS. UP!" The camera switched to several targets that were dangling over each checkpoint line on ropes. "SINCE WE HAVE SO MANY VISITING DIGNITARIES VISITING US THIS YEAR, THE KING HAS SET UP A FEW OBSTACLES TO KEEP THINGS INTERESTING." The people started chattering, some hesitant but many were excited at the prospect. It sounded so interesting! "IT WORKS LIKE THIS: AS THE FIRST PLACE RUNNER REACHES EACH CHECKPOINT, THEY GET TO PUNCH ONE OF THESE TARGETS. EACH ONE ACTIVATES A DIFFERENT TRAP LYING AHEAD TO TRIP UP THAT FIRST PLACE RUNNER AND GIVING EVERYONE A CHANCE TO CATCH UP. AND DON'T YOU WORRY, WE HAVE NAVY SHIPS AND SOME GO-GETTER VOLUNTEERS FOLLOWING OUR COMPETITORS BY SEA WITH TRANSPONDER SNAILS ON THE READY. SO YOU WON'T MISS A SINGLE SECOND OF THE ACTION!" There were roaring cheers at that. There hadn't been anything like this before.

In the distance, a cannon fired. Portunas cheered and raised his fists in the air. "AND THERE IT. IIIIIS! HERE COME THE RACERS, REVVING UP TO THE STARTING LIIIIINE!"

A tide of racers with numbers around their necks approached from the west side of town. At their head was Brisk, the winner of last year's race. All around him were confident looking citizens, each one aiming for the finish. They train all year round for this, to try their legs and the chance to become fastest on the island. Men and women alike were filled nothing but determination and faith in their own running ability. Brisk was still wearing his armor while everyone else was either in shorts, running gear, or (in the men's case) shirtless. They waved at the cheering crowds as confetti rained on them and more fireworks lit the sky. When they reached the starting line, they got into their running stances.

From his perch, Portunas added a few last minute words. "ALRIGHT FOLKS, REMEMBER THAT ENTERING THE MAIN ROAD IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED FOR THE DURATION OF THE RACE. ANY OUTSIDE INTEFERENCE IS PUNISHABLE BY LAW AND LAND YOU A COZY CELL IN PRISON." With that, he raised a flare gun and started a countdown. "RACERS! ARE YOU READY?"

From their positions, the competitors all shouted, "Rah!"

"GOOOD SHOW! AUDIENCE! ARE. YOU. REAAAAAADY?"

Cheers that almost knocked Portunas off balance were their response.

Fixing his hat so it sat back in place, he turned to the screen projection. "GOOD KING LEPUS LONGRUN! DO WE HAVE YOUR PERMISSION?"

The screen flickered and it showed the castle with Lepus standing on a promenade, a regal chair giving him a view of racetrack. He raised a hand for silence and people all over the island fell quiet to hear him speak. "Subjects! Today we honor our heritage by running with a swiftness the wind itself envies. Our forefathers and their fathers before them look down on us with pride that we have so kept their legacy alive. Today we prove to the world that we are, once again, the fastest, the swiftest, the _quickest_ in all the lands." He brandished his hand towards the screen. "The winner today not only gains fame and prestige, but my personal favor for the year to come." He stood and raised his hands regally. "Feel the wind split around you. Feel the earth quake beneath your feet! Racers! Good fortune to you all!"

Portunas jumped up and saluted his king before raising a flare gun. "YOU HEARD HIM FOLKS! ONE MORE TIME! ARE YOU READYYYYY!"

"Yeeeees!"

"THEN READ! SET! GOOOOOO!"

He fired the flare into the air and the competitors immediately sprang forward with all their might, the air filled with the cheers of their fans.

* * *

With the runners kicking up a dust storm and racing into the distance. A few volunteers were packing away boxes, a few using their hands as visors to watch them fade. One, a robust man, was looking in the opposite direction.

A woman wearing a ball cap approached him with a confused look. "Hey, what's up? Aren't you going to watch the race?"

He turned towards her and raised the item in his hand. It was number 600 for the race. "Yeah. But the last competitor never showed up. I was just looking to see if they were late."

The woman raised an eyebrow and sighed. "You dummy. At this point, anyone showing up now would never be able to catch up with the others. Besides, haven't you heard the rumors about his number?"

He looked at the number dumbly. "Yeah. But I don't believe it. There's no way the king would let her compete. This race is for people, not-"

There was a flurry of wind as a shape dashed towards them. It had blonde hair and long, long legs covered in fur. It had paws instead of hands and rabbit ears sprouted out of its head. A cloak fluttered in the breeze behind it like a discarded plastic bag. Without stopping, it grabbed the number out of the fat man's hands and threw it around her neck without missing a step.

The man and woman grabbed each other in fear, their eyes bugging out and their jaws wide open. "Moooonsteeeeer!" The screamed in fear.

Bunny didn't lose a beat as she dashed after the other racers and entered the race. It was time to end things.

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 **There you go! I hope you all liked it. Believe it or not, I enjoyed writing Portunas's part the most.**

 **See you next time!**


	37. Racer 600

**So time for me to apologize again. I haven't updated in a while. I lost the muse. Every time I tried to sit down and write, the words just wouldn't come. I'm trying to set up a system where I can do a little writing each day instead of doing it all at once, ease both the time and mental strain. Hopefully I have it worked out.**

 **Thank you all for your patience. I have no intention of ending this story prematurely. There are many adventures yet to come for the Good Heart Pirates.**

 **Now then…On with the story!**

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"AND THEY'RRRRRE OFF!"

Brisk took off with the force of a small whirlwind. His first step left a dent in the ground that tripped several runners that were behind him. It caused a small traffic jam and many were left behind only to cause more accidents.

"UH OH, FOLKS! LOOKS LIKE SOME OF OUR PARTICIPANTS GOT A **BIT** TOO ANSTY. THERE'S A BIT OF A PANIC AT THE STARTING POINT AND- OOOO! LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT A FEW PEOPLE INJURED FROM AN IMPROMPTU STAMPEDE." Portunas had moved to an off stage booth. His mic was set up and several Transponder Snails were set up to show him footage all over the race. At the starting point, those that weren't trampled were already headed down the road to catch up with the race. They were annoyed that they were off to a slow start. Those that were left were scattered on the ground, clutching limbs and groaning. A medical unit was dispatched and already loading them on stretchers to have their bones reset or splinted. Portunas waved them sadly off the track. "BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR! AND, HEY, IF YOU'RE LUCKY THOSE BONES WILL GROW BACK STRONGER!"

And just as quickly, he forgot about them and looked towards the race. "OH! AND IT LOOKS LIKE OUR KNIGHT CAPTAIN BRISK IS IN THE LEAD! NO SURPRISES THEIR FOLKS! AND WHAT A COMMANDING LEAD HE HAS! WHY, HE'S ALREADY HALFWAY TOWARDS THE FIRST CHECKPOINT!" The camera zoomed in on him. Brisk looked up at them and gave them a thumbs up and a grin. The crowd ate it up. They cheered and chanted his name.

"Go Brisk! Go Brisk! Go Brisk!"

His lead was so commanding that he turned around and back pedaled so he could see the other racers lagging behind. They were running as fast as they could but they just couldn't match him. He waved them forward, egging them on, demanding a challenge.

The crowd laughed while the participants steamed. They bit their lips to hide their shame. They practiced all year for this, to run in front of their loved ones and even from there they could hear the laughter. All of that for nothing. Two racers slowed to a jog, then a walk, and finally stopped. They looked down in consternation, the ringing chortling and giggling in their ears. They pulled off their numbers and dropped them. This embarrassment wasn't worth it.

Those that pushed through it didn't look happy about themselves either. Overall speeds were dropping. They didn't like looking slow to him, nor that he was treating them so lightly.

Lepus looked on with displeasure. He was irritated. "Why must he always do this?" He asked himself. There was a small transceiver on a stand next to him. He picked it up and pushed a button.

Down in his booth, Portunas put a finger on the transceiver in his ear. His cheery outlook paused a moment as he listened to someone. He put his mic down and leaned away from it, using a hand to cover his mouth so it wouldn't carry over to the people. "Yes, my liege?" He knitted his eyebrows indecisively. "Err…are you sure that's wise, uh, lord Lepus? If I do that then…" He gulped and nodded. "…Yes, my king. As you say." He shook his head, removed what hesitations he had, and picked the mic back up. "EASY, BRISK. NEED I REMIND YOU THAT WE HAVE A LOW TOLERANCE FOR UNSPORTSMAN LIKE CONDUCT. ALL OF OUR RACERS ARE PUTTING THEIR HEARTS INTO THEIR LEGS TO COMPETE. BOASTING IS UNBECOMING OF A FUTURE KING!"

Brisk faltered and the onlookers averted their gazes. They had gotten so worked up that they completely forgot about how the others felt. How much it must have hurt hearing them laugh at their expense. The whole nation felt a moment of immense guilt. A murmur could be heard and Portunas was sweating. The mood was down and it was his fault. He was supposed to keep them entertained, not shame them into gloominess. Looking for anything to bring back the thrill, he flickered between screens frantically until he found something. "OOOOH! HERE! IT! IIIIS!" Eyes turned towards him. "SIX HUNDRED PARTICIPANTS ENTERED THE BIG RACE THIS YEAR, BUT ONLY FIVE HUNDRED AND NINTEY-NINE WERE AT THE STARTING LINE." People who didn't know what he was talking about looked at him in confusion. Portunas gripped those people with his words and hyped them up. This was his chance to bring the fun back. The cameras switched to an above-view angle. Far ahead of everyone else, there was a small dot that was Brisk. Far behind was the mass of other racers. They were stretched out in a long line with the majority in the middle, creating a wide oval. And equidistant behind them was a fast approaching speck. The snail zoomed in on that while Portunas rallied them. "IT HAS STALKED OUR LANDS FOR YEARS. WE SPEAK OF IT ONLY IN WHISPERS. OUR CHILDREN CRY AT THE MERE MENTION OF IT'S NAME!" Lightbulbs clicked on and fear rippled through the populace, mixing with the guilt and forcing some to fall to their knees in despair. "PLEASE, WELCOME THE FINAL CONTESTANT TO THIS YEAR'S BIG RACE. ENTRY NUMBER SIX HUNDRED! BUUUUUNNNNYYYYYY!"

The image of a dust cloud took up most of the footage on screen until a figure emerged. She was outlandishly tall and her long, hare-like legs killed any notion that she was wholly human. Her blonde hair fluttered in the wind while her rabbit ears were pinned back so they wouldn't ruin her aerodynamic form as she sped head first into the throng of contestants.

Things couldn't have been timed better. This was just what Lepus needed to cement his plans. He started feeding Portunas lines through the receiver. "DON'T BE ALARMED. THE KING HAS BARGAINED WITH THE BEAST. NO CITIZENS WILL BE HURT DURING THE RACE!" He declared. "THE RABBIT IS A SENTIENT CREATURE, CAPABLE EVEN OF HUMAN TONGUE. IT HAS GROWN AS TIRED OF HIDING AS WE HAVE OF HUNTING IT."

Bunny ducked and wove her way through the crowed. Her speed was so great that almost no one even noticed her running passed them. By the time Portunas had caught his breath, she was already emerging from the front of the crowd without even batting an eyelash.

"SO THE TERMS. ARE! THIS! IF THE BEAST WINS THIS RACE, IT WILL BE ALLOWED TO ENTER SOCIETY AS A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COURT!" There were gasps and cries of outrage. This monster a member of their society? Preposterous! It was a beast to be hunted. Portunas picked up on that skepticism right away. He held up a hand to stop them and continued to persuade them. "NOW I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING. BUT PICTURE THIS! THE RABBIT HAS BEEN PLIGHTING US FOR YEARS. IMAGINE HOW FORMIDABLE IT WOULD BE AGAINST OUR ENEMIES!"

That caused them all to pause. It was true that she was strong. Also true that she was fast. Some of the men were already looking at her prospectively despite her slim build. "HOOOOWEVER! SHOULD IT LOSE! IT WILL BE IMPRISONED IN THE DUNGEON TO AWAIT PUNISHMENT FOR IT'S ACCUMULATED CRIMES! SO I ASK YOU, PEOPLE OF LONG RUN ISLAND! WHAT SAY **YOU** TO THIS DEVELOPMENT!"

The sound of running and stamping feet were the only sounds on the island. The hand of a clock ticked one minute until as one, every man, woman, and child raised their voices in united frenzy. They had purpose again. No longer was this man vs man, competitor vs competitor, citizen vs royalty. They were joined under a common cause and it lit a fire in them that shook the very island with excitement. Children cheered on their fathers and mothers. Portunas turned to the screen and flourished to the racers. "YOU'VE HEARD YOUR PEOPLE! RACERS! TIM TO FULFILL YOUR DUTY TO YOUR COUNTRY! POUR YOUR VERY SOULS INTO THOSE LEGS AND GUN FOR THAT FINISH LINE! PROVE YOURSELVES BETTER THAN THE BEAST! PROVE YOUR WORTH TO YOUR KING! LEAVE THEM IN THE DUST!"

Those words filled their veins with determination. They roared with renewed vigor and put everything they had into charging forward. They would not let her finish first.

Be that as it may, Brisk had slowed down so as to face Bunny face to face. He was shaking with suppressed delight at the sight of her. His chest heaved with deep breaths as he breathed in her scent and devoured her with his eyes. Conscious that the snails were going to focus on them, he buried his obsessive impulses.

"So…" He breathed whimsically, "Bunny." He tasted each syllable. "That the name you're going by? It's adorable."

"Don't say my name!" Bunny hissed at him. "It is mine. You don't get to use it." She pushed forward to get slightly ahead of him. He didn't mind. His eyes immediately landed on her legs and backside. "We end this. I win, I'm leaving. All claim you have will be dust on the road."

"And if **I** win, you'll be taking your rightful place beneath me as my bride."

"I'll die first."

She rushed forward, the targets of the first checkmark coming into view. She jumped and punched one of the targets with her paw, splintering it to pieces. "I will win and I will be free!"

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 **There you are. Again, I'm pushing through the block, but thank you all for your continued reading. A writer is nothing without someone to read.**

 **Till next time!**


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